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‘Rock Star: INXS’ Week 8

Rock Star: INXSWell, I was so exhausted last night that I went to bed at about 9:30, which means I haven't watched this week's "Rock Star: INXS" performances yet. And I won't be able to watch them AND post a recap with predictions before tonight's results show airs. I could just not make any predictions this week, but where's the fun in that. Instead, I'll make all of this week's predictions without any knowledge of what transpired last night. BLIND Predictions... Encore: Marty Bottom Three: Suzie Ty Jordis Eliminated: Ty The "Rock Star" Graveyard... Dana Wil Neal Heather Daphna Tara Brandon Jessica Deanna

6 comments so far...

1
PusBoy said...
I've got this one resting on the DVR as well. I look forward to tonight!
2
no true bill said...
Watched the performances online during lunch. I still think Ty and Jordis are in the bottom three, and that Ty is headed home, but I don't think Suzie will be down there with them. In fact, I think she'll get the encore. J.D. is the most likely candidate to replace her in the bottom three. After Ty, I think Jordis is the next to go, followed by J.D. MiG seems to be fading rather fast lately, so I'd bet on him leaving after J.D., leaving Marty and Suzie as the final two. I know I seem to label someone different as the favorite every single week, but I'm really starting to think Suzie has a legitimate chance of winning this thing. Andrew Farris adores her, and I've mentioned before that I think his opinion means a lot to the other band members. Plus, I recently came across an interview with Kirk Pengilly from a while back in which he said he'd prefer a female singer because it would be the easiest way to avoid comparisons to Michael Hutchence. MiG is too "nice," Marty's voice is too unpredictable, J.D. causes too much turmoil, and Jordis is too sappy. While Suzie may be a bit "plain-Jane," that also means she's not "too" anything. She has one of the strongest voices in the bunch and (perhaps more importantly) the widest comfort zone when it comes to singing different musical styles. But then again, I am biased.
3
PusBoy said...
You know how I know you're gay? You love Suzie. This comment is horribly insulting unless you've seen "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." So, if you haven't seen it, go see it, so that you won't be insulted. It's just a gag from the movie. Stop looking at me! I can't help it that I think that part of the movie is funny! Why would God allow me to think it was funny if it was wrong?! Damn you, Paul Rudd!
4
PusBoy said...
So, you got it right two weeks in a row, and you were flying blind this week! Are you starting to think that the mere fact that Australians are allowed to vote on this thing means that MiG will never be in the bottom three, fix or no fix?
5
no true bill said...
The show airs on premium cable in Australia, so the audience there is a lot smaller than you'd expect. I think MiG is safe every week because, well, he plays it so damn safe every week. I mean, the closest thing to a risk this guy has taken was singing a Peter Frampton song -- not something that you'd normally equate with a musical risk. PusBoy - What'd you think of Ty's "Everybody who voted for someone other than me is a damned racist" tantrum? I, for one, have never wanted to reach into my television and punch someone in the nose more in my life. This guy has spent the last month and a half droning on and on about how he's not a rock singer, he's a soul singer. Then when he loses in a rock competition it's because the white people won't let him be a rock singer? You can't have it both ways, jackass. (Speaking of double standards, Ty's own bragging about his soul credentials -- and all the white contestants' lack thereof -- probably had a lot more to do with racial stereotypes than his low vote totals ever did.) Maybe he should consider the fact that people just don't like him, regardless of his vocal talent. This is a guy, after all, who raised his hand immediately every single week when Brooke Burke asked if anyone thought they deserved the weekly encore; who refused to ever follow a single piece of musical advice given to him by the band he was auditioning for; who made every effort to take all of the credit for another contestant's great performance last week. These are not things one can do and expect to win the hearts and minds of voters OR the members of INXS. He very carefully worded his accusations of racism so that they were directed at the viewing audience, but there's no way he can deny that they were also a huge slight toward both INXS (who, after all, made the ultimate decision to send the black guy packing) and the other remaining contestants (who, if his criticisms are valid, are just lesser talents who have only lasted this long in the competition because they're white). Thoughts?
6
PusBoy said...
I was wondering if the show ran in Australia at all, or at least at the same time as it does in the U.S. I doubt highly that there's a pro-Mig Australian movement, but I know little about the country. The whole scenario reminded me a bit of the NBA allowing the Chinese to vote for All-Stars (Yao Ming, anyone?) but not Germans (Dirk who?) Anyway. As to Ty's racism accusations, my wife made comments similar to yours after the show, and I called her "Whitey." While I agree with you and my wife that racism had little if anything to do with Ty's departure, I *do* understand why he might feel that way. I don't know anything about Ty's background, or anything about the struggles he's faced as he's tried to make it as a black musician in an overwhelmingly white genre (which was co-opted from blacks). But, if he's faced the racial taunts and ill treatment that Bad Brains, Fishbone, and Living Colour faced, I can understand why he *thinks* racism is the reason he's gone. You know my job, and know what I deal with. There are people who see racism everywhere. There are people who think that it simply doesn't exist any more. In Ty's case, he needed some sort of scapegoat. As you mentioned, he has a fairly large ego and a rather high opinion of himself. So, when he loses a talent competition, a competition that, in his mind, he should win hands down, there must be some other reason he lost. Something nefarious. Something evil. I think that when J.D. is eliminated, and that's all but assured now, you're going to see the exact same thing. Only J.D. won't blame racism, he'll blame the backstabbing from the other contestants. He'll blame the band. He'll blame voter irregularities. Anything to soften the blow to his ego. We are headed to a point in this country, where liberals like me and you are going to have to walk a pretty thin line of knowing when someone's claim of racism is valid in his/her own mind only, or if there's a chance that racism actually played a role in some event. A few weeks ago in the T.O. versus Donovan McNabb brouhaha that no one outside ESPN gives a shit about, Stephen A. Smith reported that Donovan McNabb was "offended as an African American" when Terrell Owens called him a "company man." Essentially, a black reporter was reporting that one black athlete was accusing another black athlete of racism, based on a comment which isn't remotely racist. "Company Man" is not akin to "Uncle Tom" or "House Negro." But, the white folks on EPSN gobbled it up and dared not challenge the notion that the term itself was racist. In the Ty situation, it's something that's been festering on the show. He made a comment a few weeks ago that "you can count the African Americans in rock 'n' roll on one hand" and started to cry in one of the "mansion episodes." What Ty should realize is that nine white contestants were eliminated prior to him. If racism was the only thing at play, or even a major factor, he would have been eliminated long ago. I feel like I'm starting to get redundant, so I'll stop before I get redundant. Later.

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