9:05amCT
Joining us in-studio this morning to discuss a variety of Congressional matters — as well as some upcoming local events that you can attend — is the Congressman proudly representing Texas’ 6th district Joe Barton.
Info on upcoming DFW townhall meetings HERE.
8:05amCT
Matt Roberts is President of Mental Health of America of Greater Dallas and joins us this morning to discuss a variety of mental health issues that affect North Texas — from mental health funding, to proposed new laws that would allow concealed guns on college campuses.
Want to support Mental Health of America of Greater Dallas? Click here for information on an upcoming event!
Well, I nailed the ejectee– Curtis– but my suggestion that Janelle and Lazaro would be Bottom 3 missed mightily. America clearly likes them for some reason, while Paul and Devin, whom I hold in pretty high regard, could be in serious trouble.
So off we go with a Lennon-McCartney theme, which I am inclined to love.
KREE HARRISON will fight off the Curse of First with the Joe Cocker Woodstock spin on “With A Little Help From My Friends.” Not her best, but soulful and a nice vehicle for her style, which is really not the country model she envisions. (Note: Nicki apparently illiterate about Woodstock, noting that her version “did not sound like the original.”)
BURNELL TAYLOR really needed to step it up with song choice. The Beatles catalog is a generous cushion, but we learn that he is unfamiliar with “Let It Be,” which I would say is not possible whole living a life in America. The performance is uninspired. Burnell is starting to bore me. Judges mysteriously impressed, which hurts their cred.
AMBER HOLCOMB courageously tackles “She’s Leaving Home,” from Sgt. Pepper. Helped by a creative arrangement, she knocks it out of the park. There is nothing I love more than contestants delivering esoteric choices and making them their own. Simply tremendous. (Note: Mariah reveals HER illiteracy about one of the top albums of ALL TIME by saying she had never heard the song. Good Lord.)
So how long has LAZARO ARBOS’ mother been in America with no ability to speak English? She came to seek American freedom, but apparently had no interest in assimilating. But enough about her, I’m just directing some misplaced negativity because it’s hard for me to say her son sucked. I mean really sucked. “It’s My Life” is a classic, and he turned it into a bad night in a Holiday Inn lounge. If America keeps him around again, it’s going to get depressing.
After last week, my anticipation was sky-high for CANDICE GLOVER. A raucous choice like “Come Together” is a brave leap, and it goes without saying she had no connection to the material whatsoever. So what happens? Another grand slam. Just spectacular. What range, what stage presence– a joy to see and to hear. No one else is close right now. This girl can do anything.
(Pause button. Mariah is absolutely useless. I now fast forward through everything she says.)
PAUL JOLLEY needs a boost, so song choice is vital. “Eleanor Rigby” struck me as a nice potential springboard. Not bad, but it’s hitting me that for these twentysomethings, this is like singing Stephen Foster tunes from the 1850s. Just not working.
(Pause button for a Fox promo– if I ever watch an episode of “Hell’s Kitchen,” shoot me. Watching some big douche in a chef outfit berating people is a mystery to me.)
So all ANGIE MILLER does is wrap around the greatest Beatle record of all time. She had the wisdom to keep “Yesterday” understated, and hit on all the right cylinders. If she keeps this up, Candice may have competition.
DEVIN VELEZ needed a MUCH better song after last week’s dog, and he scored it with “Long and Winding Road.” Too many vocal runs up and down and around, but in general, very solid. I trust he is rescued.
JANELLE ARTHUR, whom I am actively trying to get rid of, charms me with the great song choice of “I Will,” from the White Album. And then, to confound me further, she weaves it with a country feel that was just wonderful. She hit all the notes and her stage presence was better. A maturing Janelle may not be going anywhere soon.
BOTTOM 3: PAUL, BURNELL, LAZARO
OUTA HERE: PAUL
UPDATE: Did you miss this segment? Catch the podcast HERE!
8:35amCT
Michael Auslin is a foreign policy expert who serves as Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
In his latest National Review column he writes:
“The Obama administration has been mugged by reality (again) — last week it announced that it would reverse its 2011 decision to close Missile Field 1 in Alaska, and would instead complete the project with 44 ballistic-missile interceptors, as originally planned by the Bush administration. Newly minted defense secretary Chuck Hagel explained that growing threats from North Korea and Iran mandate the reopening of the missile-defense site and the deployment of the full amount of interceptors.”
Continue reading at National Review
UPDATE: Hear Mark’s chat with Brad Watson HERE.
Hear Mark’s segment with Neal Boortz HERE.
8:05amCT
Neal Boortz started doing talk shows in 1969 and didn’t stop until January 2013 when he entered retirement. His Atlanta-based show became nationally syndicated in 1999, and he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2009.
In between talk shows, Neal has stayed busy writing books. His latest book Maybe I Should Just Shut Up and Go Away is a collection of stories and anecdotes from his 42-year career in radio and more.
9:05amCT
After 34 years of service to North Texas, WFAA’s Brad Watson announced his resignation from News 8 for the new position as director of communications for Luminant Energy — Texas’ largest electric power generator.
He joins us this morning to discuss.
Read MoreUPDATE: Catch the podcast of this segment HERE.
8:35amCT
Dr. Ben Carson, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and best-selling author, created a stir with his National Prayer Breakfast speech in February. He’s fresh back from CPAC where he hinted at a 2016 presidential run. We’ll discuss this and a wide variety of issues at 8:35am.
Learn more about the Carson Scholars Fund here.
Producer Susan Cloud here, covering one final day for the vacationing Mark Davis. Mark returns Monday!
UPDATE: Did you miss this segment? Grab the podcast HERE.
8:35amCT
We’re joined this morning by Bill Kristol, Editor of the Weekly Standard and frequent Fox News contributor, as we wrap a bow around a busy political week. The new Paul Ryan budget, CPAC, reaction to Rand Paul’s filibuster, yesterday’s Ted Cruz v. Dianne Feinstein showdown — we’ll hear Bill’s thoughts on it all.
In the middle of spring break vacation, I have issues all around me, from a new Pope in Rome to the same old spending addiction in Washington. I will address all of that upon my Monday return.
Until then, it is time for the rite of spring that has delighted some and incited others over the years– the talking sport that is American Idol.
To catch up: Everyone thought the show was cooked when Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell left. Wrong. I admit I thought it would struggle when the surprisingly successful chemistry of J-Lo and Steven Tyler actually clicked.
So, count me surprised that the Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj thing is working quite well. Urban is unfailingly likable yet honest, and Minaj is a complete goofball, yet makes coherent points amid the nasal whine and crazy outfits. She merits a very important type of praise– she is not boring.
For that you have Mariah Carey, who has yet to lend one useful moment to the entire season. Four judges is too many, especially when she is one of them. But this is why God made DVRs, so no time lost out of my life.
Now that we are down to the actual competition, it is far less about judging and more about the competitors. As usual, some are just not that great and some are stellar. But even middling ones can have good nights, and the highly-hyped can stumble. So let’s dive into week 1:
TOP 10:
CURTIS FINCH JR. is a talented and affable young man. But he’s going to gospel us to death. Saddled with the goofy premise of “Songs Previous Idol Winners Have Done,” he cracks open the largely forgotten Fantasia’s victory tune, the equally forgettable “I Believe.” Did it soar? Sure. Did he do well? Sure. Was it memorable? Not in the least, and he is also saddled with the Curse of Going First, in which voters have longer to forget you since voting begins as the show ends.
I’m a little bitter than JANELLE ARTHUR made the Top Ten, edging out Aubrey Cleland. Not that she is not cute, talented, blah, blah, blah, but she just doesn’t rise to the level of winning this thing. Reprising Montgomery Gentry’s “Gone,” nailed by 2010 winner Scotty McCreery, she was just okay.
DEVIN VELEZ looks exactly like Tintin, the Belgian comic book character brought to life in a movie a little over a year ago. But this mild distraction does not outweigh how good he is– and he’s bilingual, which could broaden his appeal. For week 1, he ditched the Spanish, and also ditched being interesting, meandering through Carrie Underwood’s invisible ballad “Temporary Home.” Yawn. But he’ll be back.
ANGIE MILLER looks like a young Sheryl Crow if young Sheryl Crow had enormous teeth. But they are in great shape, and so is every other aspect of this girl’s package– beautiful and crazy talented, she offered up Celine Dion’s “I Surrender,” claiming she can do it as well as Kelly Clarkson. No one should ever make that boast. But she came close enough to be one of the best of the night.
PAUL JOLLEY is a curious blend. Attractive, marketable, pronouncedly effeminate, yet viewing himself as a country star. The only thing that makes it work is his wonderful voice, brought to life with Lonestar’s “Amazed,” another Scotty stepping stone. He was great. What he needs now is versatility.
Okay, I’ll telegraph it right up front. I think CANDICE GLOVER is going to win this thing. Said so a week ago. All she did with “I (Who Have Nothing)” is deliver one of the most spectacular performances in the history of the show. So I guess I’ll stick with my gut here.
I just love LAZARO ARBOS. How can you not? You just want to hug him, to project onto him some confidence he lacks, probably from his serious stuttering issue. But like others similarly afflicted, the speech defect vanishes when he sings, and he has a very nice voice. But good enough to win? No. Good enough to go far this season? No. And tackling Clarkson’s “Breakaway” did not help.
KREE HARRISON is just neat. And different. Kind of like Crystal Bowersox after dental work and tattoo removal. Like Paul, she risks limiting herself with a country label, and wisely debuts with Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” which played to her strengths. But as long as Candice is in this group, she will be the no higher than second best.
BURNELL TAYLOR is an argument-starter. My wife and I think he’s great, yet he is berated by some whose views I respect. He did not help his cause by reminding us of Ruben Studdard, who I think is selling cars in Tuscaloosa. “Flying Without Wings” was as dismissible here as it was when Ruben delivered it. But Ruben won. Burnell won’t. But if he picks better material, he can be Top 4.
AMBER HOLCOMB polished off the night with another risky attempt at a Kelly Clarkson tune, in fact her Season 1 victory anthem, “A Moment Like This.” The judges loved it. I didn’t. For some reason I view her as less than the sum of her parts. She is beautiful, sings very well and has good stage presence. Yet I have never been wowed by her. That adds up to song selection issues. Or maybe I’m just nuts.
So:
BOTTOM 3: CURTIS, JANELLE, LAZARO
OUT FIRST: CURTIS
Read More
Producer Susan Cloud here, filling in for Mark this Wednesday – Friday.
We’ve got a big Wednesday show planned, with plenty of topics to cover. We’ll grab your calls, and also hear from the following guests:
7:35amCT
Katrina Trinko is a gifted young writer for the National Review, and she’s covering this year’s annual CPAC event. Who has created the biggest pre-conference buzz? Who has claimed the most podium time? We’ll get Katrina’s perspective on this, and more.
8:35amCT
Matt Lewis, contributor at the Daily Caller and The Week — and one of this producer’s all-time favorite guests — joins us to discuss a variety of issues, from the Ryan Budget, to Rand Paul’s filibuster, to CPAC.
9:35amCT
Few understand the political landscape in Texas better than Matt Mackowiak — GOP consultant and founder of Potomac strategies. He joins us to discuss Tuesday’s breaking news, that George P. Bush will seek the office of Texas Land Commissioner.
