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Song on my mind... "This Boy" by The Beatles. And if you watch the video below, I'm sure it will be on your mind, too.

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Song on my mind... "Downpour" by Brandi Carlile

I'm like the rain in a downpour
I wash away what you long for
And I wave goodbye with the sun in my eyes
I wish I could be there tonight

I'm like the wind in the canyon
I'm there then I'm gone in a second
You're growing older in peace where you're at
I wish I could be there for that

But I moved on
Like a rolling stone
In a crowded room
I'm alone

You're like the tide in the deep blue
'Cause you're always there when I need you
And when you need someone to carry you through
I'm gonna be there for you

I listened to it a lot while I was in Boston last week and its sorrowful lyrics and melody followed me home.

Over the last few days, it has been impossible to write thoughts longer than 140-characters long. (That one was only 97 characters. See what I mean?) When it comes to the written word, it seems as though my brain is only willing to express itself in thought bites. Consider this post my brain's attempt to break free from the character-limit mindset. Think of it as a macrotwitter.

Since last week, work has been monopolizing my creative energy. My latest project is on my mind all of the time. Even as I write this, I can feel it tugging me back, and if it's affecting my writing, one of my great escapes and passions, then I know it's bad. On top of that, I've been sleeping less. No matter how late I fall asleep, I've been consistently waking up between 5:00 and 5:30 in the morning. The only solution I can see is to finish the project. The only problem is that it isn't something that can be finished overnight. It's going to take time (a whole lot of precious time), but if I keep going at this pace, I'll burn out long before I reach the end. I have to find a way to slow down and regain my life's equilibrium.

In addition to my work struggles, I recently ran into a snag with my sit spot challenge. I had wanted to start visiting my spot during day, but instead of breaking the night habit, I accidentally broke the sit spot habit. I finally managed to get back on track yesterday, and as soon as I finish this entry, I'll be making it two days in a row (technically, one day and one night in a row, but still...).

I think what I've truly been missing is a good hike -- a few hours of quality solitude, a few hours of one foot in front of the other, a few hours of no-tech trail time. In my bones, I can feel that it's what I really need to help me find some peace of mind. Unfortunately, that haven is still a few days away.

In the meantime, I'll have to make do, try to regain control of my creative energy where I can, and try to let go of the work that has such a tight grip on me. One thing that might help is some music, which brings me to the following video of George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You". I had to look it up as soon as the lyrics came to me a paragraph or two above. It's hard to believe Harrison covered the song twenty years ago.

It was 11:40 p.m. by the time I made it to my sit spot, which gave me exactly twenty minutes to squeeze in twenty minutes of sitting. I believe the phrase people like to use is "cutting it way too close". I prefer the term "precision procrastination".

There would have been wiggle room if we had gotten home earlier, but we had just been to a Chris Isaak concert at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, and at M's urging, we had stayed after the show to get his autograph.

To be honest, it didn't require much urging to convince me to stick around. I like his music and I thought his performance was amazing. We only shook hands and exchanged a few words, but in those few seconds, he came across as a genuinely nice guy, which I guess I wasn't expecting from a musician/rock star/celebrity. I left the show star struck.

I was still distracted when I finally reached my sit spot. It took a minute to lower the volume of the songs still going strong in my head. I gazed at the beauty of the full moon, hanging high in the night sky, with "Only the Lonely" and "Forever Blue" playing in back of my mind. It was the perfect way to end a fantastic night.

What follows isn't a photo of the moon, my sit spot, or Chris Isaak. Rather, it is a photo of the Mountain Winery, which is tangentially relevant to this entry's topic.

(or, What Do These Three Items Have In Common? Hawaii.)

1. Last week, while on my usual morning break, I discovered Maui Wowi's downtown location had closed. At first, I thought I was on the wrong street, but careful inspection of the adjacent businesses told me otherwise. I peered through the glass, past my reflection (with its dismayed expression), and saw the interior had been gutted. All that remained were the brightly colored walls. I turned away with a sigh and moped all the way to the end of the block, contemplating where I could get the coconut mocha I was suddenly craving. (And to think, the place had only opened 18 months ago.)

2. Last night, I was feeling in the mood for some kalua pork and cabbage for dinner, so I hopped over to the new Ono Hawaiian BBQ in town. It has only been open three months, but if my counting is correct, last night was Visit No. 6. Besides the pork, I'm a sucker for the loco moco and the mahi mahi. It's also where I get my spam musubi fix. As far as I'm concerned, it's the only good thing that came from the arrival of the big-box shopping center on the edge of town.

3. To kick John Mayer's tunes out of my head, I've been listening to an unhealthy amount of Jason Mraz's music. (Imagine a dozen tiny Mrazs wailing on a half-dozen tiny Mayers, and you'll have an accurate picture of what has been transpiring in my mind.)

His latest single, "I'm Yours", is saturating mainstream radio at the moment, unfortunately. If I had my way, every station would only be allowed to play it once a day, so everybody could actually enjoy it.

While I like the upbeat, yet soothing vibe of the song, I like it more when it's accompanied by the video, which was filmed on the islands of Hawaii.

It brings a smile to my face every time I watch it. And from now on, whenever I hear that song, I going to be thinking of Hawaii.

Song on my mind... "Say" by John Mayer

Walkin' like a one man army,
Fightin' with the shadows in your head.
Livin' out the same old moment
Knowin' you'd be better off instead

If you could only
Say what you need to say...

If I were being brutally honest, this wouldn't be a "song on my mind", but rather a "song drilled into my head". It is repetitious beyond belief. I can't stand the chorus, but I love the verses and the instrumentation. It also resonates with how I've been feeling lately. I've been so hung up on how I want to say things that I haven't been able to say anything at all. I need to get over myself and just say what I need to say.

Song on my mind... "Cecilia" by Simon and Garfunkel

Celia, you're breaking my heart
You're shaking my confidence daily
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees
I'm begging you please to come home
Come on home

Jubilation, she loves me again,
I fall on the floor and I'm laughing

This song never fails to lift my spirits and brings a smile to my face when I hear it. Some people believe Simon wrote it about his dog. Others believe he wrote it about an actual girl. I like to believe he wrote it about St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, and creative muses in general.

My muse is a shy and elusive spirit. She disappears at the first sign of doubt. When she's gone, it's agony, but when she finally reappears (usually of her own freewill), it is pure bliss.

(Or, As A Grail Knight Said, "You Have Chosen... Poorly.")

(For archival and amusement purposes only.)

Last night, the three remaining contestants sang three songs: one chosen by the judges, one chosen by the contestants, and one chosen by the producers. As you will see, in most cases, these weren't the people who should have been doing the chosing. Let's travel back in time and relive an abbreviated version of the show...

Round One

Paula chooses Billy Joel's "And So It Goes" for David Archuleta to exploit his timbre, which makes me instantly wonder, "Aren't there laws regarding minors, their timbres, and the exploitation thereof?" I hate to say it, but the song really accentuates Archie's timbre, which sounds dirtier than I want it to, but Paula started it. His first lines are a cappella and it's my favorite Archie moment of the entire season. This moment dies the instant he starts squinting, a nasty habit he acquired after ALW told him to keep his eyes open. (My resentment of that bit of advice grows with each passing week.) Randy claims Archuleta could sing the phone book and sound great, which is Jackson's way of saying he would have preferred to have heard him sing the phone book. In fact, this just in: Archuleta's first single will be "Area Code 650: Al-An". Platinum all the way, baby.

For Syesha, Randy chooses Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You". The beginning starts out too low, but she works her way back into her vocal comfort zone and finishes strong. For the first time, I can envision the type of song she would sing on the radio, which is to say, something in the catchy, yet generic family.

Simon chooses Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for David Cook, which reinforces my belief that he's out to get him. Cook looks nervous and his first few notes sound tentative, but then he hits a couple of critical notes in his falsetto and he's suddenly in a groove. The song builds and builds until the crowd is in a frenzy and the last twenty seconds outshine anything Archuleta has done vocally up to this point. Afterwards, I search YouTube for Flack's original version and discover Leona Lewis, Simon's X Factor discovery, sang the song, which now reinforces my belief that Cowell likes Cook a lot.

Round One Rankings:

1. Cook
2. Archuleta (by a hair)
3. Syesha

Round 2

As soon as Archuleta says he's singing Chris Brown's "With You", I hear my inner Admiral Adama yelling, "Action stations! All ears, action stations! Brace for impact!" Archuleta's phrasing is all wrong and I say this with all sincerity, dancing and David don't mix. They should never mix. If there were ever a time to put him behind a piano, this would be the time. I don't care if he can't play a note. Have him play middle C for ninety seconds and it will be a million times better than whatever it is he's doing right now.

Syesha chooses to sing Peggy Lee's "Fever". For once, the whole Broadway effect doesn't work, yet it's an improvement over what Archuleta just did. I drift off at the end thinking about her pre-song interview, which rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed like she was doing a bad impression of Reese Witherspoon doing an impression of June Carter Cash.

Cook's choice is Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move", one of my favorite songs. A tiny voice in my head shouts, "Yes!" The song starts slowly, which would be okay if he had four minutes to perform it, but he doesn't. He's barely into the best part of the song and it's done. It feels incomplete and I feel gypped. I want more. That's what she said! Actually, that is what she said... she being Paula.

Round Two Rankings:

1. Cook
2. Syesha
3. Archuleta

Round 3

Perhaps the producers are out to get Archuleta because they give him "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg. It's bland. It doesn't help that his background singers aren't in tune or in time with him. I suspect they might be singing a completely different song. Anyway, I have to agree with Simon's assessment of the performance. It's "gooey". I would only add that it's also "squinty".

Syesha returns in her third sparkly outfit of the evening and sings "Hit Me Up" from Happy Feet, a movie I saw that involved dancing computer-generated penguins. For a second, I thought it was a Rihanna song. I mean, it sounds like something Rihanna would sing, but as it turns out, it's something Gia Farrell would sing. As everybody knows, Gia Farrell is a female pop singer who sounds like every other female pop singer out there, which shows you just how highly the producers think of Syesha.

Finally, Cook sings his third song. The producers yoke him with Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" and an orchestra. I can already hear how it's going to sound, but I listen anyway, because if it's anything like what I hear in my head, it's going to be good. David doesn't disappoint and Simon sums it up nicely by saying, "David Cook wins the night."

Round Three Rankings:

1. Cook
2. Syesha
3. Archuleta

Prediction

Are we in for another predictable American Idol elimination show tonight? Unfortunately, the answer is sYESsha.

If the producers of American Idol had given me a chance to direct last night's episode, this is how the show would have gone down...

• Ryan introduces the four contestants.
• David Cook sings his two songs.
• Syesha and Archie smile and wave to their adoring fans.
• Ryan sends Jason home and tells everybody to tune in next week.

The whole thing would have been done by 8:15 and America could have enjoyed the rest of its Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, nobody asked me to direct the show, so it all went a little differently. Here are the details...

The Final Four have the task of performing songs from the vast Rock and Roll Hall of Fame catalog. This bodes well. I can feel it in every sarcastic bone in my body.

Round 1

David Cook is up first and his first song is Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf". He performs it well, but it's just a shinier, more refined version of the original. On the upside, it isn't karaoke. On the downside, it isn't bloody brilliant, which I expect every Cook performance to be at this point in the competition. Being good or solid doesn't cut it anymore.

Syesha Mercado's introductory clip rubs me the wrong way. She explains how Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" has been covered a hundred times, essentially saying the song comes with baggage. Luckily, it baggage she overcame once she looked in the mirror and said, "Just do it. Just have fun with it." Apparently, even people with stratospheric egos need to give themselves pep talks now and again. As she has done for three straight weeks, she gives her performance a Broadway spin, but not in a bad way. It instantly makes her my second favorite contestant of the show. Here is somebody (besides Cook) with the killer combo of talent and stage presence. Here is somebody actually trying to win.

Jason Castro, the anti-in-it-to-win-it contestant, performs next. He admits to recognizing only a few of the five hundred songs on the Hall of Fame list. One of them happens to be Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff". I thought when Castro and Marley met, it would be magical. Instead, it's quirky and different and does nothing for me.

David Archuleta follows this with Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", a song little Archie sings in his room to himself when his dog can't take it anymore. The song choice is predictable. David goes gospel whenever he can. His singing is pretty, but hollow. Something is missing. When he finishes, the crowd goes insane. Apparently, I need a dose of whatever delusional drug they're taking because Archuleta's performance is only a step above okay for me. I also can't help thinking that if he came back in another four years, after obtaining a college education, his own personality, and some backbone, I would appreciate him a whole lot more.

Round 2

David Cook returns and redeems himself with The Who's "Baba O'Riley". Perhaps in the context of the real world, Cook is nothing special, but in American Idol Land, he displays a sensibility and sophistication that his competitors lack. He seems to be the only one who voluntarily listens to music during his free time and actually has a modicum of musical awareness. During his performance, I keep imagining Archie asking his dad, "Who is The Who?" His dad replies, "Nobody. Just a bunch of guys going to hell, so I don't want you paying any heed to them. Now, be a good boy and finish watching the Charlotte Church DVD I got you."

Syesha's second performance is good, but I don't think it's as strong as her first. She sings Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come". I can't get over her opening comments, when she compares her journey on the show to the struggles of the civil rights movement. It's as though she says, "Let's forget historical significance for a minute and focus on me."

Ryan seems almost embarrassed to introduce Jason and, for his part, Jason doesn't seem all that eager to be on stage. He explains he's going to sing "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan, who may be my least favorite Bob in the musical world. Before the first strum of the guitar, I know it's going to be horrible. And it is. At one point, I think he's doing a spot-on Dylan, with the unintelligible mumbling, but then I realize he has simply forgotten the lyrics. Simon tells him to pack his suitcase, but I'm hoping the people behind Vote For The Worst save him at Archuleta's expense.

Speaking of which, Archuleta takes the stage again. This time he's singing "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley because Archie has never tortured us with a "romantic love song" before. It's actually incredible to watch him tackle a Presley song. Elvis, even when he sang gospel music, still managed to ooze charisma and sex appeal. You could feel the emotion behind his words. He believed them. With Archuleta, the song is just a combination of sounds he has to make because a piece of paper tells him to. The crowd, still high on their meds, cheers for him wildly. The judges give him hyperbolic praise, topped with Simon's assessment that David A. "crushed the competition". And I can't help but think, "Simon must still be hoping for a slice of that Vanessa Hudgens/Jonas Brothers/Hannah Montana/Ashley Tisdale market."

Predictions

If I could pick the Top Two, it would be Cook and Mercado. If there's a shocker tonight, I hope the David going home is Archuleta. Otherwise, I think Ryan will be showing Jason the door and Jason will only be too happy to go.

(Posted after the fact and for archival purposes only.)

Before I begin, I just want to say this: the next American Idol recap I read that makes reference to diamonds or roughs is going on my blacklist. Instead of using the same jaded phrase, I want to see somebody make reference to "finding a Neil in a haystack" (because I'm dorky like that).

As a kid, I was exposed to what some might consider a dangerous amount of easy listening music, so for better or worse, I'm fairly familiar with the music of Neil Diamond, which means I recognized a majority of the songs sung on last night's show.

Depending on how you feel about Neil Diamond, last night was either double the pleasure or double the pain, as the final five contestants got to sing two (two!) Diamond masterpieces each.

In order to squeeze those ten performances into a single hour, Ryan had to herd the contestants and judges around like cattle. His sense of urgency was palpable and understandable. Ten two-minute performances means 20 minutes of singing. Throw in the required 35 minutes of commercials and that leaves only five minutes for Paula's babbling and little else.

Jason Castro gave two half-hearted performances. His rendition of "Forever in Blue Jeans" was downbeat and depressing. It lacked momentum. He followed that up with what must have been the most lethargic version of "September Morn" I've ever heard. On a positive note, Jason did manage to get off his stool and stand upright (mostly) for the second half of the song. Unfortunately, this effort sapped his remaining strength and he was incapable of singing complete lines from that point forward.

David Cook's take on "I'm Alive" was standard at best. It was good, but never rose to great. His second song, "All I Really Need Is You", was the best performance of the night. He channeled Diamond's sound in places and infused the rest of the arrangement with his own sound. It was the only song I could imagine being a hit on the radio today.

Despite her previous poor performances, I was hoping Brooke White would do well. She gave "I'm a Believer" a go, but the song was too much for her. Her mugging and grinning all seemed forced and fake. Instead of trying to do Smash Mouth's version of the song, she should have given it her own spin or gone with a different piece all together. For "I Am, I Said", she ditched the guitar for the piano and was suddenly "in the zone" again. The song fit her perfectly and her performance felt authentic. It reminded me of why I liked her in the first place.

David Archuleta sang two of Diamond's biggest hits: "Sweet Caroline" and "America". While his vocals were technically impressive, his performances lacked charisma. Both songs felt too big and grown-up for him. His version of "America" was nauseating and reminded me of days gone by, when Kristy Lee Cook was still going strong. His take on "Sweet Caroline" was so icky (especially the way he sang "touching me... touching you"), I had to cleanse my memory by listening to Diamond's original version several times, followed by a few views of Jonathan Coulton's cover...

Syesha Mercado's rendition of "Hello Again" was solid, but forgettable. The most memorable thing about her performance was her hair (it's mean, but true, but mean, so I'm sorry, mostly). For her second song, she sang a rousing version of "Thank the Lord for the Night Time". She spruced it up with some of her Broadway flair, but it was still only so-so for me.

While my dream Bottom Two would be David A. and Syesha, I don't think that dream is coming true. In all likelihood, tonight's Bottom Two will be Brooke (backlash for last week's elimination evasion) and Jason. With any luck, Jason will go home. The boy is tired and needs a nap.

Last night, Idol's Top 6 sang songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber (ALW). I must admit that I'm not a fan of his musicals. I like a handful of his songs, but that's it. If I were to put a percentage to it, I would say I like 5% of his music. I prefer musicals by Lerner & Loewe, Rogers & Hammerstein, and Mencken & Ashman/Schwartz. With those composers, I look forward to almost every song in the production. With ALW, I'm usually suffering through the entire show to hear one song.

Because the Sharks won last night (hockey, not West Side Story), I'm in a good mood, so I'm going to try to be kind and compliment every contestant. Of course, to avoid jinxing the team in the next round, I'm going to say something negative, too, to balance it out. Finally, I'm going to suggest songs from non-ALW musicals I would have preferred to have heard last night.

Enough with the blabbering, let's get to the recap!

Syesha - Before Syesha even took the stage, I knew she was going to do something dumb like totally surpass my expectations, and she did with "One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many", the only ALW song of the night I didn't recognize. Let that be a lesson to all you future Idol hopefuls. Set the bar low in the beginning, not so low as to get eliminated, but low enough that everybody expects you to fail miserably every week. Then, when you deliver a competent performance, everybody will be so surprised you didn't fall on your face, they won't notice your mediocrity.
Compliment: She looked amazing in that red dress.

Peeves: The way she writhed around on the piano and the way Rickey Minor danced was disconcerting

Alt. Song: Knowing Syesha's proclivity to tackle songs by untouchable divas, I wished she had sung "Listen" from the film version of Dreamgirls, just to see how she compared with Beyonce Knowles.

Jason - ALW didn't seem keen on the idea of Jason singing "Memory" (from Cats). Why Jason would choose a "girl song" confused him. Despite the criticism from the judges, I liked his performance. I think it was because it sounded, in parts, like "Hallelujah". Randy said the song had "too much melody" for Jason, a comment I found comical. It wasn't as bad as Randy or Simon made it out to be.
Compliment: He has the whole sit-on-a-stool-and-sing thing down.

Peeves: Song choice. The image of Barbra Streisand in dreadlocks persisted throughout the performance. I wished he had picked a different song.

Alt. Song: "That's How You Know" from Enchanted. That would have been the perfect "girl song" for him. He could have played steel drums and had a full reggae band backing him up.

Brooke - She makes me want to cry. It's the result of liking her and wanting her to do well and then watching her completely flop... week after week. My hopes were high when she said she would be singing "You Must Love Me" from the film version of Evita. Brooke exudes vulnerability and so does the song. They're a perfect match, in theory. Then she started singing and everything fell apart. It was the most excruciating two minutes of the show. I watched in constant fear she would forget the lyrics (again) or suddenly breakdown during the song. I could tell it was bad when Paula couldn't think of single thing to say and then started giving the speech she usually saves for people going home.
Compliment: She managed to stand in silence during the judges' remarks -- a first for her.

Peeves: Again, song choice. Having her stare at the camera and tell us we must love her made me sad. If she had to sing ALW, I wished she had sung "I Don't Know How To Love Him".

Alt. Songs: She should have gone with something cheery and out of character, perhaps something along the lines of Julie Andrews, like "Sound of Music" or "I Could Have Danced All Night".

David A. - When the group of tweenyboppers stormed the stage to give him a hug, I fell out of my chair in laughter. The boy look petrified and mystified. It was an uncomfortable moment. Archuleta befuddled ALW with his song choice. He chose "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera, another "girl song". ALW seemed disappointed with David's choice and after I heard his rendition, I was, too. He took a pleasant ballad, hollowed it out, and sang it the way I imagine All-4-One would sing it if they were still relevant (to use Simon's word-of-the-season).
Compliment: David succeeded in keeping his eyes open throughout the song.

Peeves: I don't think he blinked once. He was all squinty and staring. Creepy.

Alt. Songs: For my own amusement, I wished he had sung "Greased Lightning" from Grease or "Get Me To The Church On Time" from My Fair Lady.

Carly - Like Syesha, Carly did that annoying thing where she completely rocked the song. While I wish she had stayed with her initial choice of "All I Ask Of You", thus showing the judges her consistent inability to choose the right song, I'm glad ALW set her straight with "Jesus Christ Superstar". It matched her style perfectly. It was part rock song, part church revival, and called for nearly continuous shouting, something Carly has taken to in her desperate attempt to please the judges, especially Simon. She can sing. Her main problem is that she only seems to be able to sing loudly.
Compliment: This was her genre and she delivered.

Peeves: She cheated and left the high notes up to her backup singers.

Alt. Songs: I wished she had sung something down tempo, like "On My Own" or "Colors of the Wind".

David C. - Somewhere in the middle of the exchange between David and ALW, my brain shut down. I think it was around the time Webber told David to sing sensually to him, like he was a 17-year-old girl. When I came to, Cook was singing "Music of the Night" and singing it well. The quality of his voice really came through, but I wished he had done something more with the song. Like Simon, I prefer Cook's grittier sound.
Compliment: This was a truly brave performance. He didn't rely on instrumental gimmicks or little known arrangements to boost him. He relied on his vocals alone and it worked.

Peeves: Randy's volcanic compliments. In this case, Cook's performance was a "molten hot lava bomb". I'm waiting for Randy to say something like, "That was Haleakala hot!" Or "That was smoking like Mount St. Helens!"

Alt. Song: I think he could have rocked Bye Bye Birdie's "Honestly Sincere". It's a tongue-in-cheek tune, but if any rock song from a musical needed grit, this would be it.

Predictions: This week's Bottom 3 will be Syesha, Jason, and Brooke. If Brooke doesn't go home, I'll be very surprised.

Song on my mind... "Pork and Beans" by Weezer

Everyone likes to dance to a happy song
With a catchy chorus and beat so they can sing along
Timbaland knows the way to reach the top of the charts
Maybe if I work with him I can perfect the art

Tomorrow is too far away.

I must admit that when I learned the contestants on American Idol would be singing Mariah Carey songs, I seriously contemplated boycotting the show. Visions of mangled song corpses sprawled across the stage, violently killed using the deadly musical fighting style known as karoake, flashed through my mind. Why would I want to watch mayhem guaranteed to give me nightmares later? Bolting upright with a gasp, in bed, in the middle of the night (a la Patricia Arquette), as the last echoes of Carly's screeching faded away, is an experience I'd like to avoid (if at all possible).

But only a few minutes after reading that bit of Idol news, I saw the headline that Ollie Johnston, one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men", who worked on Snow White and other animated classics for the studio, had passed away. This got me thinking about some of the music from that first feature-length cartoon, and when I have tunes like "Whistle While You Work" and "Heigh-Ho" playing in my head, I feel as though I can deal with anything the world throws at me, including an hour of potentially awful singing.

At that same moment, another idea popped into my head: perhaps the show would be more enjoyable if I played a game called "Match the Idol to the Dwarf". If you want to play the game, take a second to do so right now. If you don't remember the names of the dwarfs, here they are: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey.

Done? Great. Let's get to the recap...

David Archuleta sang "When You Believe". As a dimembodied voice, he sang it surprisingly well. As a performer on stage (with lips, arms, legs, and a whole list of other required body parts), he was barely watchable. It almost made me wish the producers had hidden him behind a piano like they had done last week (a move that drove me insane because 1. I swear he only played two chords and 2. nobody could actually hear him playing). Dwarf: Dopey.

Carly Smithson took a stab at "Without You". It's one of my favorite Mariah songs. The beginning was great -- soft and controlled, but then she began pumping the song full of volume and emotion and wrong notes and I suddenly began watching the second hand on the clock to see how much longer I would have to suffer. Immediately after the show, I listened to Mariah's version to stave off any nightmares (luckily it worked). Dwarf: Grumpy.

In previous weeks, the judges scolded Syesha Mercado for attempting songs by divas like Whitney and Mariah, so she came into this week at a disadvantage. She had two choices...

1. She could either defy the judges, pick a signature song, and suffer their wrath.
2. She could pick a less recognizable song and risk becoming forgettable.

It was a Catch-22 and I admire her for choosing the second option. It's better to give a forgettably mediocre performance than a horribly memorable one. Dwarf: Happy (appropriate because he's always the last one I remember).

Brooke White is usually at her best when she's at the piano. When she plays and sings, she looks comfortable and confident. To me, she seems bulletproof. Unfortunately, that impression was shattered last night. Her version of "Hero" started off well enough, but less than halfway through it, she started to crumble and not even the piano could save her. She was this week's weakest link. Dwarf: Bashful.

Kristy Lee Cook sang "Forever", which is the answer to the following question, "How long have you waited for the Colonel to be voted off American Idol?" She gave another above average performance (by her standards), which means she will be around for yet another week. It was good enough to make me shake my fist at the television in frustration and shout at the sky, "Why?!" Dwarf: Sneezy (maybe her squinting is allergy-related).

David Cook's version of "Always Be My Baby" started rough, but got significantly better once he got his voice out of its lower registers. I totally agree with Simon that his performance was a breath of fresh air. It wasn't one of his better performances (or arrangements), but it was a masterpiece compared to the five previous acts. Dwarf: Doc (the oldest of the dwarfs).

Jason Castro ended the night with "I Don't Want To Cry". I just wanted to point out that during the clip that preceded the song, Mariah called Jason "interesting", "different", and "unique". Make of that what you will. Despite Randy's Simon-like criticism, comparing the performance to something heard at a luau, I liked it. (Full disclosure: I happened to be eating a loco moco for dinner at the time, so my opinion might have been slightly swayed by my taste buds.) He didn't have a guitar or ukulele in his hands, but he actually seemed comfortable on stage, which was nice to see. Dwarf: Sleepy.

Prediction: This week's bottom three will feature Carly, Kristy Lee, and Brooke. I hate to say it because she's my favorite woman, but I fear Brooke "Snow" White will be the one to take a bite from the poison apple.

Yesterday, I walked over to San Jose's City Hall to hear a free lunchtime concert in the beautiful rotunda.

The Cypress String Quartet (CST) was slated to perform.

To warm up the audience, which numbered around 80 people at its peak, the group began with Mozart's String Quartet No. 21 in D Major. They played the second and third movements (Allegretto and Adante). I was mesmerized by the melody and impressed by the acoustics of the dome.

Next, the quartet introduced Kurt Rohde, a local composer, who spoke about the brand new string quartet the CST commissioned him to write as part of their Call & Response program.

The piece is called Gravities and it was written in response to Bartok's String Quartet No. 6. The CST gave us a taste of it by playing the third movement, Danced. They'll be performing the entire song at the Montalvo Arts Center on April 17th.

While listening to the composition, I was caught up in the ever-changing flow and rhythm of the music. The emotions evoked were rawer and more jarring than those I felt during Mozart's piece.

The last piece the CST performed was Dvorak's String Quartet No. 106 in G Major. They played the third and fourth movements. This one was my favorite of the set. It was lively, with spots of humor, and it left me wishing the group could have played longer.

As it was, the concert lasted 45 minutes and I had just enough time to gather my things and return to the office.

I certainly wish there were more noontime concerts in downtown San Jose. Live classical music in the middle of the day is a welcome escape from the doldrums of cubicle life. I can't wait for the next musical getaway.

(Or, The Most Uninspired Night of Inspiration in Idol History)

Last night's theme on American Idol was "Inspirational Songs", a theme chosen to coincide with the Idol Gives Back charity event airing tonight.

To help me get through this week's recap, I needed to search deep for some inspiration.

In between the updates on Twitter, informing me about the latest twists and turns the Olympic torch relay was taking in San Francisco, it came to me: I would limit my thoughts to 140 characters or less for each contestant.

So, here are my short, but sweet tweets...

Michael Johns sings "Dream On". New rule: Wear a cravat, get the boot. What is that awful noise?! Oh, it's his falsetto. Chihuahuas cringe.

Syesha sings Fantasia's "I Believe". Choir drowns out the worst of it. More chihuahuas cringe at the end. A Bottom 3 performance.

Jason Castro attempts Brother Iz's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Song suits him and he nails it with the ukulele. Best of the night, sadly.

Kristy Lee Cook sings an unoriginal cover of Martina McBride's "Anyway". It's the perfect farewell song. @KLC Sing it well. Go home anyway.