In the (Robin) Thicke of It

Will someone please explain to me the success and appeal of Robin Thicke? We all know the only reason he has a career was due to nepotism. If his father hadn't been Alan Thicke ("Growing Pains") and his mom hadn't been Gloria Loring (soap star), Robin would be just another no-talented wannabe Justin Timberlake. And believe me, his talent isn't even one-tenth that of Justin Timberlake.

First off, his voice is grating and annoying with a high-pitched thin falsetto, and he sounds like a Bee Gees reject. His sex appeal is zilch and his songs are banal... especially his latest release which is essentially a song justifying rape, saying that women "want it."

At one point it was rumored he'd be a coach on "The Voice." For that reason I alone, I passed on auditioning. I could just imagine he'd be the one to turn his chair around and then I'd have to say, um, no thanks dude!

Seriously, what has happened to the music industry? I'm starting to sound like my parents, lamenting the crap that's on the radio these days. Whatever happened to melodies that had emotion, lyrics that had meaning, and singers who actually had good timbre, pitch and phrasing... who didn't oversing like Mariah Carey and Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera, and all of their knockoffs? Singers need to go back and listen to Rosemary Clooney, Karen Carpenter, Janis Ian, John Denver, and other pure voices.

On the most recent season of the rapidly declining "American Idol," Harry Connick, Jr. was a guest coach one week. The barely articulate Randy Jackson sank to new lows of stupidity when he denigrated Harry's feedback that the singers needed to stop trying to show off with so many notes and simply SING and understand what they were singing.

Sometimes there really is such a thing as too many notes, Mozart. Letting a phrase breathe... embracing the space between the notes... letting the melody AS WRITTEN do its job... these concepts are lost on younger singers. As much as I'm not a fan of Susan Boyle, her simplicity serves the music well.

I beg you, music industry, STOP giving careers to hacks like Robin Thicke.

Sibilant Rivalry

Speak now or forever hold your peath. The Media seems to be overrun with people who have noticeable and distracting speech impediments. Just read their lisps.

Ex-football player Michael Strahan has replaced Regis Philbin, and is now Kelly Ripa's co-host on ABC's newly-monikered "LIVE! with Kelly and Michael" (not exactly an inspired title, by the way).