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Tag: John Oates

  • Hall and Oates meet Rumer…

    Hall and Oates meet Rumer…

    I just rediscovered the magic of Hall and Oates as they meet a British-Pakistani singer named Rumer…

    The other day, I got an email from the Majestic Theatre alerting me that Daryl Hall and John Oates would be performing in San Antonio on February 24, 2014. I like Hall and Oates. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and their music was all over the place when I was coming along. However, I also know that these two guys have been around a long while and I wasn’t sure how they were holding up to the inevitable effects of aging.

    My good friend George told me that Daryl Hall has a series on YouTube called Live From Daryl’s House, which often features him, John Oates, and their band playing music with different artists. As I was watching clips from Halls’ series, I came across a clip featuring a singer named Rumer. I had never heard of her. In fact, I actually wondered if maybe she was Demi Moore’s daughter, Rumer Willis. But then I did some research and found out that Rumer is actually a British-Pakistani singer Sarah Joyce. Born in 1979, she is old enough to remember Hall and Oates, though she would have been a youngun when they were at the height of their popularity.

    In any case, I was a little nervous about listening to what she did with Hall and Oates’ hit, “I Can’t Go For That”. That song was never among my favorites by Hall and Oates anyway. But I was curious, so I played it and…

    all I can say is, “Wow!” I actually love this remake of “I Can’t Go For That”. I love that the arrangement is updated to sound exotic and sexy. Rumer has a sublime voice that seems custom made for music to chill out by. That voice is silky smooth and sensual.

    I was surprised to read that some people compared Rumer’s vocals to Karen Carpenter’s. Frankly, I don’t hear it. I love Karen Carpenter’s music and her voice was amazing. To me, Rumer’s voice has a sexiness and warmth that Karen Carpenter’s voice lacked. It’s like a puff of intoxicating perfume that subtly reaches the senses until you’re pulled in to its magic. I was not a fan of “I Can’t Go For That” the way it was originally released to the masses, but I could totally get into Rumer’s remake, sung with Daryl Hall.

    Rumer also covered Hall and Oates’ sweet classic, “Sara Smile”. I never thought of this song as one that would lend itself well to feminine vocals, but she does great with it…

    I like the way this song is stripped down and made into something new, featuring Rumer’s gorgeous vocals. If I were going to compare with Karen Carpenter, maybe I could more on this song than on “I Can’t Go For That”, but I still think her voice is unique and stands on its own. I have always loved “Sara Smile” and would probably prefer the original to this remake, but I think Rumer did a fine job with it. Listening to this makes me want to check out her music. And I love the way the band is into it, too…

    I was not familiar with “Be Thankful For What You Got”, but since I liked Rumer’s other work with Daryl Hall, I decided to listen…

    This is a very soulful number and again, Rumer and Daryl Hall knock it out of the park. Hall and Oates meet Rumer… and make magic! And now, onto the next order of business.

    Why I am writing on Thursday instead of Friday…

    Tomorrow, my husband Bill and I are going to attempt to take a military hop somewhere in the world. I have a feeling we’ll end up going to Germany, but we could go somewhere else. The nature of military hops is unpredictable. That’s what makes them both fun and frustrating. The upshot of this development is that it’s unlikely I will be able to do much writing for the next couple of weeks. Of course, if we don’t get a hop anywhere, I could be back to work next week. But the odds are good that I will be somewhat incommunicado, as least as far as blogging goes. I expect to be back around January 23 or thereabouts…

    Until then, see you later!

  • American Idol Season 9 – And The Winner Is…

    Paula Abdul
    It’s time to see who is the season 9 winner of American Idol. However, it will take us over two hours to get here. Fox usually packs the finale show with performances, goofy skits, and video packages. Tonight, I have heard they’ll also give Simon Cowell a mighty send off. I just hope that they bring back Paula Abdul to help send him off.

    Tonight, let’s do the recap diary style.

    8:02 – It’s been 24 hours since last night’s performances and Lee still looks nervous.

    8:03 – Ryno Seacrest introduces the judges and Randall Jackson is wearing a suit that would make a pimp blush.

    8:06 – Alice Cooper performs School’s Out For Summer with the Top 12, and Siobhan (aka creepy little girl) stole his creepy thunder with her creepiness.

    (By the way Idol, way to understand your demographics with that one. Who’s next tonight, Ozzy Osbourne?)

    8:13 – Kris Allen is singing some new song and I’m still giving anyone 2-1 odds who doesn’t think he’s getting divorced soon. He has that look in his eyes that says he’s on the hunt for new meat.

    8:16 – We get our first Simon Cowell video package, which is a complete waste of time. But at least I got to see Paula.

    8:18 – Creepy little girl and Aaron Kelly are singing How Deep Is Your Love. She looks like she wants to eat him.

    8:19 – The beautiful Bee Gees came out to join them. Barry had to sing his lines to creepy girl, while poor Robin had to sing his to Aaron. That was awkward.

    8:26 – Big Mike Lynche and Michael McDonald are dueting Taking It To The Streets. If Taylor Hicks comes out right now doing his jig, I will smile largely.

    (By the way, Alice Cooper, the brothers Gibb, and Michael McDonald have been the celebrity performers so far, and McDonald is the youngest at a ripe age of 58. American Idol, on the cutting edge!)

    8:31 – Let’s take a moment of silence for Dane Cook’s career. Bow, there it is.

    8:34 – The top 6 girls came out to perform Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful. Lacy Brown led the way and all of America tried to remember if she was on the show or not.

    8:37 – Christina herself came out to sing and she’s still number one on my list of those who I’d request to sing me lullabies before I sleep. Rosie O’Donnell is last on that list by the way.

    (The roaming camera reached around to Christina’s backside, and I have to say that for a skinny girl, she’s got some junk in the trunk.)

    8:47 – The top 6 boys are singing Hall & Oates tunes, which leads me to think…

    8:49 – …that of course, Hall & Oates are coming out. I wonder if they’ll get Scott Savol to get on stage and sing She’s Gone? You think Scott’s persona non grata with Idol? All he did was beat his girlfriend. Come on people, where’s your forgiveness!

    (By the way, I might be the only Idol blog to mention Scott Savol’s name. I’ll do you one better. How about Corey Clark?

    8:51 – Darryl Hall looks like he hasn’t bathed in the year 2010.

    8:52 – Janelle Wheeler who was my favorite Idol contestant to look at, and who also dated Tim Tebow is hanging out with Crystal’s fans in Toledo, Ohio. But she’s not wearing those terrific pants that I love.

    This Girl Can Wear Some Pants

    8:53 – Crystal is out singing Ironic. Wait, does that mean Alanis Morrisette is coming out?

    8:54 – Of course it does! I think she’s making fun of Joey from Full House or something.

    9:01 – Carrie Underwood is performing. Do you remember what I said about Christina Aguilera being such a skinny girl and having junk in the trunk? Well, as far as having junk in the trunk, it’s the same for Carrie, only the opposite. She has one of the more famous cases of noassatall.

    9:08 – Casey James is out singing and Bret Michaels comes out. Wait, isn’t Bret Michaels sick? I have a feeling those guys are going carousing tonight.

    9:18 – Lee DeWyze and Chicago perform, and right after, Ryan throws it to Matt Rogers, the former football player who was on Idol many years ago. Rogers looks about 45 years old with a receding hair line. I don’t want to remember my Idols this way. Go away Matt, just go away.

    9:21 – General Larry Platt and a bunch of extras from the movie Step Up performed Pants On The Ground. Then William Hung joined the fray and let’s just say that he doesn’t speak English any better than you remember. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I enjoyed this better than Lee DeWyze and Chicago.

    9:29 – Yay! It’s Paula Abdul on stage!

    9:34 – Boo! Paula’s gone.

    9:35 – Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, and Fantasia Barrino all came out to sing with Simon. Ten bucks says that Taylor Hicks didn’t get invited.

    9:36 – Damnit! I owe you ten bucks.

    9:37 – Holy jeez! All the terrible ghosts of American Idol contestants past came out to sing for Simon. Mikalah Gordon done growed up. Constantine just winked at me!

    9:38 – Mysteriously absent was David Cook. And for that matter, Jennifer Hudson. Wait, she hates Simon.

    9:44 – The top 12 is out singing Janet Jackson’s Again. Wait, does that mean…

    9:45 – Of course it does! Miss Janet Jackson is on stage sans her weave. Her hair is amazingly short.

    9:49 – And the junk in the trunk award goes to, Janet Jackson. Holy cow. She’s now performing Nasty. And you know who choreographed that video.

    9:52 – I think Randall Jackson is in love.

    9:54 – Please answer this for me once and for all. Is the gap in Crystal’s teeth near the side of her mouth charming or a hot mess?

    10:01 – Ryno’s going to tease us about the results for about five minutes here.

    10:02 – Ok, I lied. He’s getting right to it. And Lee is terrified.

    10:03 – And the winner is… (aw man) Lee DeWyze!

    10:04 – Crystal isn’t a sore loser at all, but you have to think that she knows she was robbed heartily.

    10:05 – I just realized that Lee’s average cover of Beautiful Day is going to top the iTunes charts next week.

    10:06 – I also just realized that this show may be entirely different next year. Good night everyone.

    Paula Abdul photo shared via Wikipedia through the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

  • The Legend of Oates’ Mustache

    John Oates' MoustacheThis was too good to pass up…

    I recently came across an article on billboard.com that says that there is a cartoon in the works called “J-Stache”. This animated series will focus on the adventures of one of the great mustachioed men of our time, John Oates. Oates will be a mild-mannered (wait for it) FAMILY MAN (that’s a Hall & Oates song, people) who turns into a crime-fighting superhero when his mustache attracts him back to being a rock star.

    Said mustache will be voiced by Dave Atell, meaning that this will automatically be the funniest thing Atell has ever been in.

    The coolest thing about this is that Oates is totally co-signing it! He’s got a fantastic sense of humor about it, although I guess I would too if a cartoon about my facial hair was going to potentially make me a shitload of money.

    According to the article, the pilot episode will focus on Oates trying to open a wing of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (an institution that H2O are curiously not members of) dedicated to mustachioed musicians and joining forces with David Crosby and Tom Selleck.

    One word=awesome. I’m so there, it’s not even funny.

    Daryl Hall’s perfectly coiffed tresses had no comment.