By rascal
Angels.mp3
First, the good news: In contrast to his earlier AI studio performances, David has evolved considerably in his ability to reproduce in-studio the dimensions of power and urgency he locates so naturally in live settings. If only the producers hadn’t done everything in their power to undermine this accomplishment.
The production is shamefully overdone. After a stunning opening, one that holds the promise of sublime nuance and incredible consequence, the vocal is swallowed into the mix like powdered sugar in batter. I feel like a want to throw poor David a life-raft to keep him from drowning. The arrangement itself is tight, if a little thick; the tempo is spot-on. And then comes the chorus… The harmonies are positively ridiculous. And not in the good way. Pure, unadulterated bubble gum.
The travesty of it all is that they’ve taken a magnificent, dynamic, heart-wrenching performance and all but neutralized it with layers of nonsense. Someone needs to clue them into the concept of “less is more.”
If this is a harbinger of things to come, we’ll have to prepare ourselves for some disappointments.
By rascal
The album description in the Wal-Mart catalog gives us a unique insight into the marketing strategy in place for David. It was in all likelihood not intended to be published as-is, but rather the result of a lazy or overworked Wal-Mart publishing arm that didn’t bother to re-write the distributor release from the label. Here’s an excerpt:
A series of multi-layered marketing and media campaigns will be implemented in the coming months to assure a chart topping album release. The primary target demographic of teen and tween girls will be reached through a series of high school and cultural initiatives the brand Archuleta as every girl’s “best friend,” “all-American crush” and “future heartthrob.” A secondary demographic of parents will be reached by emphasizing Archuleta’s natural talent as “inspirational,” “genuine” and “refreshing.” The week of release media campaign will include a series of live performances and appearances on morning and late night television programs, and Archuleta will perform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, post-release.
Although the copy might be tailored specifically to Wal-Mart and similar retailers who expect to be selling to particular demographics, the positioning seems nevertheless to be quite narrow, and makes me wonder if Jive really does understand what they have in David. Perhaps his producers know, but one wonders if that knowledge has been translated to Marketing.
On the one hand, David has plenty of time to evolve his positioning to reflect the true depth and breadth of his work and the nature of his diversified appeal; on the other hand, there’s a risk in getting pigeon-holed as a teen heartthrob (even if it’s distinguished as a “future” heartthrob–that modifier sounds suspiciously like the result of a David-driven negotiation to me…!). Such narrow-casting may well make it tougher to transition to broader, more “serious” markets down the line.
In the language of the current political climate, appealing to the base has limited value. Those constituents will show up anyway. Jive would be better advised to establish a broad base of appeal for David–one that indeed reflects current reality more accurately–right from the get-go.
By rascal
Angels – Album Version.mp3
Well, I know one thing is for certain. I will not be able to be at work when the full versions of this material becomes available. There’s no weeping at work.
By rascal
A Little Too Not Over You by David Archuleta
I have to confess to a having been a little underwhelmed by this one on my first review of it last night, even while conceding that I am not the slightest bit close to the target demographic for it. David’s voice has such depth, such complexity–not to mention his ability to color and shade his performances with incredible subtlety and intelligence–that when I hear it being deployed for purposes such as this, I can’t help but lament a certain loss of opportunity. But David, as we all know, is much more than a gifted singer with great skills. He is a consummate musician, a pop music connoisseur, and, lest we forget, still a teenager. This kind of song must be acknowledged as the right kind of vehicle for at least a certain–and, at this point, significant–aspect of his recording career.
On a second listen this morning I liked it a lot more. In particular, there’s a sweetness about it that is incredibly appealing without being mawkish or cloying. David is proving to be very adept at this difficult balance in choosing material. And, as evidenced by the bridge section tacked on to this preview clip, he is also smart to pick songs that allow him some extemporaneous opportunities, not even so much to showcase his melismatic capabilities (which have been overdone in pop music marketplace for some time now), but to include that heart-tugging cry in his voice, which he tends to pull out at the ends of certain vocal riffs. The falsetto in this section just elicits in me one, huge, s#!*-eating grin. At the risk of emphasizing my flair for the obvious, I just love this boy.
The final test of the viability of this one may very well be that after only two listens, I found myself humming the damn chorus while preparing breakfast. If that’s not an indication of market potential, I don’t know what is.
By rascal
An amusing article from The Spoof, a kind of member community authored version of The Onion:
During debate John McCain grills Barack Obama about his ties to David Archuleta
Written by Francine Fishpaw
Hofstra University, Long Island, NY – In a surprising move John McCain veered from the questioning about Barack Obama’s ties to unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers and ACORN.
Barack Obama’s face looked unmoved when McCain questioned Obama about his ties to Bill Ayers or about how Obama first launched his political career in the Chicago home of domestic terrorists Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn. Obama put his hand over his mouth and yawned with boredom. Obama then rolled his eyes when McCain and moderator CBS’ Bob Schieffer peppered Obama with questions about his association and connection with Ayers.
When McCain brought up Obama’s ties to ACORN, the radical group that is helping the Democratic hopeful register thousands of votes in swing states, many of them fraudulently, Obama was unfazed, shook his head, and said “More politics of distraction”.
McCain then brought up Obama’s conversation with Joe the Plumber, the man who Obama told that when he is elected he would raise taxes and “spread the wealth around” to those who didn’t make enough money. Obama quickly said with a smile “John, you are being erratic” and looked unfazed.
Then to the surprise of this reporter and of everyone sitting in the audience John McCain rose from his chair and got five inches away from Barack Obama’s face and said “It seems you left your ipod in the ready room when we were waiting”. McCain held up Obama’s ipod and said “Is it true you have David Archuleta’s Crush on your ipod’s most played list, Mr. Obama, and in front of millions of viewers do you deny it, do you”?
Suddenly in front of millions and millions of TV viewers Barack Obama’s eyes widen with uncertainty. He started to sweat, stutter, and shake and with lips quivering, Obama suddenly blurted out “Yes! Yes! It is true! I love Crush! I have no shame. Yes, my daughters turned me on to Crush and now I am hooked. Sure Archuleta came in second to David Cook on American Idol, but I-I-I just can’t stop listening to it! It’s like crack…I mean, I have it on repeat. You just have to listen to the lyrics…just listen to the words. The song just speaks to me. Have you seen the video…have you!?” Suddenly Obama got angry and pounded the debate desk and shouted “I don’t care, damn it…I just don’t care! Crush just touch me in spots I never knew I had!”
Obama suddenly put his head down on the desk, hiding his face and started sobbing uncontrollably, and McCain turned to the audience and said “I rest my case”.
By rascal
Buddhism glorifies the path to spiritual enlightenment itself (the Dharma), which is attained in part through meditation. Meditation is really nothing more or less than a training, or a practice, designed to develop an awareness and use of the wisdom mind as opposed to the more common human inclination (particularly in the West) of relying on the thinking mind. Buddhism presupposes that the thinking mind is quite limited compared to the wisdom mind, which is in many ways analogous to the godly state described in every major world religion, whether it is articulated as being at one with Christ, the Holy Spirit, or with the source of all things. It takes the individual, the ego, out of the equation and allows a freer, broader, deeper, and more compassionate perspective of existence.
David’s acknowledgment that the source of his potency as an artist is “not him” suggests his awareness of the fact that it is beyond his own individuation, that his ability to allow the wisdom mind–what he might call God or Christ or the Holy Spirit–to drive his performance is what gives him his power to touch hearts. This connection is not the exclusive domain of any one religion or practice but a universal truth that anyone can experience. David offers to those who are open to it an opportunity to feel that connection through him. It is not a connection with David. It is a connection with our own wisdom of the infinite by way of David’s remarkable and beautiful example.
There is a great deal of lovely symbolism in the imagery of Buddhism, evidenced here in R4D’s stunning use of Buddhist thangka elements. Here is a great resource for more about these symbols, but I’d like to at least make mention of the lotus flower, the petals within which our meditating David sits, and which blossom around him. The lotus (padma) is an important symbol in India and of Buddhism. It refers to the complete purification of body, speech and mind, and the blossoming of wholesome deeds in liberation. The red lotus, seen here, signifies the original nature and purity of the heart. It is the lotus of love, compassion, and all other qualities of the heart.
I don’t know if Rabid selected the red lotus on purpose, but given David’s ability to create heart connections with his music, it could not have been a more appropriate choice. Special thanks to Rabid for allowing me to premiere this magnificent composite.
By rascal
There are certain requisitions from the notingDavid Executive Steering Committee that seem as though they are not likely to go away. It’s easier to just give in.
I want to make special mention of the amazing folks over at David-HQ for maintaining such an important archive of high-resolution images of David and his remarkable journey. I also want everyone to know that other than the standard minimum 10% that the Zazzle site conveys to its vendors, which will go toward hosting fees and other resources necessary to maintain this site, no up-charges or profit margins have been added to the cost of the calendar. The price is the minimum production cost.
Please also note that while you can order the calendar in three different sizes, most of the images were only large enough for the smallest size, which is what I decided to optimize all the images for. I strongly recommend ordering the small size (which ought to be great for cubicles and lockers and home office areas), since the quality of the images is certain to deteriorate at the larger sizes.
Get the 2009 David Archuleta Calendar here.
Update: This product has been removed, along with other DA products using images, from the Zazzle site without notice or explanation. Theoretically, a calendar using only fan photographs would not constitute copyright infringement, but will take a bit longer to “curate,” since there is no single archive of them online such as the one at David-HQ. Once I establish a correspondence with Zazzle and learn the particulars of this action, I will look into creating another version without AI copyrighted images. Stay tuned.
By rascal
The amount of intelligence, creativity, and sheer hilarity in the David Archuleta fan community is really something. Or, you know, something else. Above is one of my favorites, the impressive work of Fsteven, who did the CD display chop, and UK based chenson, posting on IDF, who had the idea to visualize the result of the album debut.
This one was a bit too much to be posted here for all eternity, but it is screamingly funny (finish all beverages before clicking).
