#58: The man is made of awesome!

[FearofH2O]

Good morning! It's a beautiful day and I don't have to work today. My poor tomato plants have gotten so large and the tomatoes so heavy they fell over yesterday so I have to put in 6 foot tall stakes today to tie them back up. I'm enjoying eating all the wonderful fruits of spring and that always starts my day off right.

I enjoyed everyone's comments on CTMEOOY. I keep imagining Clay singing in a large venue with a dance floor. He is fronting a complete orchestra and people are dancing to the sounds of his voice. Just two more weeks to the Broadway show.

Have a wonderful day.

[keepingfaith]

What Kind of Fool Am I

I adore this song. I've loved it forever and Clay gives me goosebumps on this one. I love the jazz version with David Sanborn, which takes it to another place from the stage version and Sammy version. One thing that I do wonder about is why the lyrics were changed at the end, from

Why can't I fall in love, 'til I don't give a damn

to repeating

"Why can't I fall in love, like any other man"

I suppose those words resonated hard with Clay and he wanted to stress them for lyrical impact, but the original words had a big impact on me, and when I first heard the song I missed those dramatic lyrics at the end. But, this is now Clay's song, so I already give a damn less and less about the change.

The final "why can't I" has an old Johnny Ray vibe to it. Johnny Ray was before my time, but I have heard his music and seen old clips on TV. This was his vocal trademark from the early 50's, to wrench every ounce of emotion from a song.

Sammy D. and Tony Newley famously ended What Kind of Fool Am I with the show-stopping glory note, and I was expecting a "BOTW" ending from Clay, but he surprised me and softened it down to a plaintiff cry. I'm in love with that. This one is a contender for best song on the album for me.

[luckiest1]

And THANK YOU ALL for your "reviews" so far. As I said when I introduced the concept a few days ago, I realize that some people are going to say "he sing pretty, me likey" and that will be it. That's cool.

Hee, you talkin' to me?

What Kind Of Fool Am I......this is not one I was looking forward to because, like quite a few on this album, I associate it with the music my mom used to listen to when I was a kid, and I hated it. I liked 70s pop, I liked Wings, and in my teens I got really into the older rock and roll stuff that I had missed out on, like the Beatles and all the British Invasion, or 50s stuff like Elvis and Richie Valens. Mom's music was just not my style.

However....Clay has made me love it. I can't wait for my Mom to hear this record, because I think she is going to love it, too. I love the lyrics to this song in particular, and I love hearing Clay sing them. It's an earworm for me.

I just handed off a copy of the CD to a lady here at work who I think may enjoy it. She seemed quite excited to give it a listen, and she also asked me when the PBS special was airing, because she doesn't want to miss it. So fingers crossed!

[keepingfaith]

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/07/Clay_Fights_Antigay_Bullying/

Clay Fights Antigay Bullying

By Advocate.com Editors

Clay Aiken spoke to the Associated Press about how being teased as a teenager led him to become an advocate against antigay bullying.

Since coming out in September 2008 and having a son, Aiken has proudly embraced his role as a gay celebrity. He's a big proponent of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which is working to stop gay bullying in schools.

"The truth is, when I look back on it, I absolutely know that [being gay] is why I got picked on. People said it, we heard it," Aiken says, referring to his mother.

Aiken, who just released an album of standards, features information about GLSEN on his website. "I don't know what it would have done for me," Aiken says. "But I feel like there's a potential impact there."

Read the full story here. Aiken is one of the celebrities who appears in a video for Cyndi Lauper's Give a Damn Campaign to combat antigay harassment.

Am I in an alternate universe? GLBT sites are praising Clay Aiken and slamming Elton John. Whoa, where am I?

[cindilu2]

Ahhh, What Kind Of Fool Am I... how I love thee. This one competes with It's Impossible and Crying for my favourite from the CD. From my first listen through the album the overwhelming feeling I get is how much Clay has matured, and it resonates in this song for me most of all. I love the way he builds the song, from the hesitant questioning at the beginning to the wrenching statement that ends it. He really makes me believe that he is asking the question of himself. He may not consider himself an actor. I, however, beg to differ. He is in complete control of his instrument (yes, I've left that as a gift for treenuts on her return) and it is a wonderful, magical thing.

Why can't I cast away this mask of clay and live my life. I wonder if he had a small, ironic smile on his face as he sang this lyric?

I think I would recognize Clay's phrasing even if someone just spoke the words to me using his style. It is unique to him and one of the things that I love most about the way he sings. Well that, and his hard r's and the word baby (baybeeee, baybay, behbeh, babyuhh - I'll take 'em all!) *g*

ETA: On the clay/play lyric: I could probably be convinced either way, but even through my good headphones it sounds like a 'cl' sound and not a 'pl' sound. It will be interesting to see the PBS video and watch his lips. In either case... still ironic.*g*

[keepingfaith]

FYI, the lyrics are "mask of play" not "mask of clay":

What kind of clown am I

What do I know of life

Why can't I cast away

This mask of play

And live my life

The show "Stop The World I Want To Get Off" is centered around a circus clown, Littlechap, who aspires to more.

[luckiest1]

Sure sounds like mask of clay to me.

[keepingfaith]

Chelsea Handler is an acquired taste and she has a point of view. There are times I don't like what she does and says at all, and other times I admire her for being a "real" person who doesn't do phony. She hates celebrity for celebrity's sake, and this online comment sums it up nicely:

Which brings us to Chelsea Handler's appearance on "Larry King" Thursday night, where the comedienne expressed her utter disdain for people like Bombshell McGee, Kate Gosselin and Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (or "whatever their names are," as she said). She finds the mass media coverage of people who are famous for being famous "scary," and told King she would never consider having any of the aforementioned folks out for their 15 minutes on her show.

This interview from a couple of years ago is informative about Chelsea Handler:

http://www.pr.com/article/1089

People who don’t want to be famous are much more interesting. I find those people much more compelling and much more dynamic.

[Silverclady]

I'm enjoying the reviews of the songs very much. People here are very articulate. I guess I'm in the he sings pretty, me likey catagory. The Four Seasons never appealed to me either but Clay can make me like most songs. His voice takes over and I can forget the other version.

[Carolina Clay]

Wow, what a great read! I forgot about the listening party, and I'm back teaching lessons today. Hope to join in ... SOON!

Thank you for the visits to the Carolina blog. This morning I added a brief segment about my grandson. In case you've already been by (and many thnx to those who come!), here it is:

Sly Kai Emails Grandma

Grandson Kai, who will be 3 in September, sent me an email Monday night; but he didn't type a thing. Everyone else was otherwise occupied, so he REPLIED to his sister's Jacquie Lawson birthday card.

I thought it was strange that there was no message, so I dialed the phone number to see what was up. Sure enough, his mother was feeding Lia and didn't even know he was on the computer!

Kai knows how to log into the sites of his favorite kiddie shows. Now to get him to press some keys when he "writes" to Grandma, LOL!

Have a great day, all!

Caro

[ldyjocelyn]

Another new radio interview:

WXLO radio

Starting off with some funny hair talk!

[FearofH2O]

That was the cutest interview of all. Maybe he should have a radio show. I wouldn't mind.

[ldyjocelyn]

New Tweet:

clayaiken I am Neda.

#neda r/t

I also got this by being a fan of his on Facebook -- and from being a fan of the Dixie Chicks on Facebook as well. I've read that Sting blogged about this too. Wonder how this is getting passed around? Is Sting part of SAM, because I first thought of SAM when the Dixie's showed up as well?

[kimiye]

New Tweet:

clayaiken I am Neda.

#neda r/t

I also got this by being a fan of his on Facebook -- and from being a fan of the Dixie Chicks on Facebook as well. I've read that Sting blogged about this too. Wonder how this is getting passed around? Is Sting part of SAM, because I first thought of SAM when the Dixie's showed up as well?

Sting apparently sings the song about the young Iranian woman who was shot dead at a protest, so that may be his connection rather than management. It is a chilling video (and not just because the woman's shooting was captured).

[ldyjocelyn]

Thanks for Sting song info kimiye!

Back to CTMEOOY for a second...first of all, I really like jmh's video idea. *g* Secondly, I think that instrument you and cagney are hearing is just a guitar, but played with a special technique. I'll try to ask my husband (a guitarist) about it tonight.

Now...on to What Kind of Fool Am I? Some background for me: I was in jazz band in high school. (Since I played piano, my nickname was "Fingers." Yes, it was a simpler time, and surprisingly, didn't get teased about that all that much...) Anyway, the feel of this piece takes me back to the dances we would hold to make money for our band, especially when we get to "What kind of life is this?" That shuffle feel is so cool for me to hear.

[begin reading way too much into the lyrics]

I think he changed the lyrics from "give a damn" to "any other man" as a kind of sly gay relationship thing. As in, "yeah, I'm gay, why can't I love anyone I want to?"

[/reading those lyrics]

kf, you're right about the "mask of play." I had to put on noise canceling headphones though to catch that.

Everything builds really nicely in this piece, to the big brass thing at the end, and then back down for the soft coda.

I wasn't so sure about this song at first, but it has really grown on me.

[keepingfaith]

FINAL -- TOP 20

LW TW artist / album label power index % change

-- 1 JACK JOHNSON BRUSHFIRE/UNIV REPUBLIC 250,638 --

TO THE SEA

3 2 JUSTIN BIEBER ISLAND/IDJMG 53,544 +7%

MY WORLD 2.0

1 3 GLEE CAST COLUMBIA 45,428 -27%

GLEE: THE MUSIC, VOL. 3 SHOWSTOP

4 4 LADY ANTEBELLUM CAPITOL NASHVILLE/EMI 40,953 -13%

NEED YOU NOW

5 5 USHER LAFACE/JLG 34,565 -1%

RAYMOND VS. RAYMOND

6 6 LADY GAGA INTERSCOPE 32,924 +6%

FAME

8 7 CAROLE KING & JAMES TAYLOR HEAR MUSIC 26,590 +6%

LIVE AT THE TROUBADOUR

-- 8 TAIO CRUZ MERCURY 24,394 --

ROKSTARR

12 9 GODSMACK UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC 21,070 -7%

THE ORACLE

16 10 KE$HA KEMOSABE/RCA/RMG 20,471 +5%

ANIMAL

15 11 NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 33 CAPITOL/EMI 20,317 +2%

VARIOUS ARTISTS

-- 12 CLAY AIKEN DECCA 19,722 --

TRIED AND TRUE

17 13 B.O.B. ATLANTIC 19,310 -1%

ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY

19 14 ZAC BROWN BAND ATLANTIC 19,076 +7%

FOUNDATION

7 15 BLACK KEYS NONESUCH 18,810 -29%

BROTHERS

2 16 STONE TEMPLE PILOTS ATLANTIC 18,601 -70%

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS

20 17 JUSTIN BIEBER ISLAND/IDJMG 17,957 +3%

MY WORLD

9 18 ROLLING STONES UME 17,898 -28%

EXILE ON MAIN STREET

21 19 BLACK EYED PEAS INTERSCOPE 17,556 +5%

E.N.D. (ENERGY NEVER DIES)

10 20 NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC 16,967 -28%

DISTANT RELATIVES

[ldyjocelyn]

From Notacanuck at CC

New interview from Artisan News

Clay talks to CNN

OK, so he didn't make number two. But I'm still proud of him!

The CNN interview is darn cute. And I'm going to start saying "Bring It On!" a lot more....

[keepingfaith]

I think he changed the lyrics from "give a damn" to "any other man" as a kind of sly gay relationship thing. As in, "yeah, I'm gay, why can't I love anyone I want to?"

Both are in the original. He chooses to omit "give a damn" at the end and instead repeats "any other man." I suppose it's for emphasis as to how he feels it, but the "give a damn" was the climax point of the original. I don't think it's a language issue with him anymore.

[keepingfaith]

Tweet from HDD:

Jack Johnson debuts at the top of the chart this week, Taio Cruz & Clay Aiken come in Top 15

[cindilu2]

Another new radio interview:

WXLO radio

Starting off with some funny hair talk!

This was a fun interview for sure, but oh my god, Invisible? Really??? They couldn't have found a copy of the new CD?

[keepingfaith]

From Notacanuck at CC

New interview from Artisan News

Clay talks to CNN

OK, so he didn't make number two. But I'm still proud of him!

The CNN interview is darn cute. And I'm going to start saying "Bring It On!" a lot more....

That CNN interview is really good and he looks wonderful. Did I hear him say that he'd be the best judge on Idol? And that the show would suffer without Paula, Simon and him? He's so funny!

He should be ready to tape Chelsea Lately in about twenty minutes. It's in front of a live audience ... wonder if any fans are there.

News headline at HDD: Taio Cruz and Clay Aiken Bow in the Top 15, as Johnson Hangs Ten at the Top of the Chart

[preden]

{{{preden}}} Hang in there, you are not wrong.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Gave my sister a copy of TNT today and she just called to tell me she just loves it and hopes it will sell well! She had voted for on AI but not a big fan. My other sister was also given by me a cd and listens to it in her car and loves it too!

[gbmifan]

I have to say that Clay looks so handsome in the CNN video and his personality jumps right out.

I was not home to late last night so I did not get to comment on CTMEOOY. The song is just ok for me, I did not like the Four Seasons version either.

Now, WKOFAI(this are alot to type) I thought at first I would not like it but boy once I heard it I loved it. I really like Sanborns playing and it gives a great feel to the song, and Clay's vocals are wonderful.

I would of liked Clay to come in higher today in the HDD but I just hope in the long run this CD continues to sell.

[merrieeee]

Ok I am going to post something profound, enlightening and very very deep so be prepared.........That guy in the CNN video is hot!!!!!!

[ldyjocelyn]

If any of you are friends of mine on Facebook, could you please go over and make a comment about my latest link? You'll probably figure out why I'm asking this as soon as you see. (Husband of best friend from college is being a jerk. No, more than a jerk. This is time number 2 for this kind of thing. I think it's time to unfriend him.