Texan twins: bon voyage-worthy aesthetics?

Check out the YT discussion on Arthur's theme regarding American Idol.

Then take a look at one of the top 11 contestants for Idol, Michael Sarver, who actually beat out my fave Anoop by a mere 20,000 for the third voted-in spot for the finals (Thankfully A.D. did come back as a wild card). What America was smoking when they picked Sarver over Desai? Anoop is clearly a better vocalist (a fairly excellent vocalist actually). Although I am terribly biased because I find him pretty fetching...

But I suppose anything is possible when the country elects and then re-elects someone like W. for president. A guy that the "heartland" can latch onto, but who simply doesn't deliver. Then, only when starved for competency, do the voters mobilize for something better. Which gets me thinking, will the AI electorate eventually make a similar transition? Take a look at the zealous campaign that's being waged by rabid fans and 'Noop's homeboys. Honestly, this might be too much, even for me. Mr. Desai does have a strong pre-AI empirical track record, but with mixed results since hitting the big stage, he still has a lot to prove. Funny enough, I find myself viewing the current administration with a similar hope restrained by analytical skepticism. Either way, can we please avoid the Bobby Jindal comparisons? Soooo NOT in the same boat.

But back to another representational issue, Michael Sarver and Christoper Cross: are they not doppelgangers? Plus, they are both from Texas.

One cannot count someone out just because they don't have a conventionally pretty face. C.C., for one, was a veritable music factory. Did you know: "his self-titled debut album, Christopher Cross (1979)...garnered him five Grammy Awards [and that] he is the only artist to personally receive all of the "Big Four" Grammy Awards (Best Record, Song, Album, and New Artist) in the same year"? That is a feat yet to be matched. He also won an Oscar for co-writing the aforementioned "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)." It was likely that his musical output was not his ultimate undoing. Instead it was probably the advent of the 80's and MTV killed his career and now he plays cruise ships, county fairs, etc. According to Idol starmaker Simon Cowell, Sarver, while also not possessing a prototypically marketable look, does have an appeal for the blue collar worker suffering in the recession, a story middle America can identify with. Or at least root for.

Unfortch, both of these guys similarly fail to produce any "wow" factor, and that has nothing to do with their looks. Just their rather underwhelming vocals. But Cross was more a mildly talented songwriter/musician than a star anyhow. Truth be told, I will occasionally dip into the guilty pleasure trough of AM gold "Sailing." (Haha, his guitar!). There is some real talent there, even if it's of the castrated easy-listening sort. Sorry to say I can't defend Sarver in the same way at this juncture. There is a serious lack of supporting evidence.

Will Sarver hang in the music game, looks be damned? Or will he be sailing away? Stay tuned to find out how tyrannical the majority becomes.

Addendum, April 2, 2009: Apparently, Sarver's quite the prolific songwriter. A really sweet fellow too. Whoops on the W. analogy. He's waaaaay more clued in than our former president.