Merry Christmas from ... David Cook

The American Idol takes on John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)."

| David Frese, The Star

Comments

[dude]

DUDE!!!

dude, you ask for our suggestions, then you insult us by ignoreing them, now you post this crap?? please stop, or should we delete this site from our fav links?

where is Tim Flynn?

[hoopstar]

This stuff gets really old, like that crappy Music for Darfur they did of Lennon covers.

1st rule of music: If you're doing a cover, and you're not fit to hold the original musicians jock strap step away from the classics.

[David Frese]

Dude.

Tim is taking some time off. Your suggestions are coming. I posted many of this week's selections a week or two ago and set them to pop this week. Sorry for the delay.

[Josh]

The Polyphonic Spree's cover of Happy Xmas is much, much better.

[Chill dude]

David- Don't worry about it. I am sure you have noticed that readers of this blog are impossible to please. Your doing fine.

[lucas]

Come clean david, you know where Tim is. He was kidnapped by a hostile mob of smashing pumpkins fans and is currently holed up in an undisclosed location forced to listen to Today until he confesses that Billy Corgan is his lord and savior....or he coughs up enough money to buy his captors new zero t-shirts.

[Emily]

Step away from the classics?

This is a classic?

[hoopstar]

It may not be a 'classic' but it is something that a poser like David Cook has no business covering. Sorry if you make your bones after being selected an 'American Idol' you are nothing.

Why do we keep giving this ass clown press?

[greenman]

People on this blog are not impossible to please - you'll notice the raves that real artists, bands and shows receive here - along with some criticism, to be sure - but certainly not all negative. But when it comes to this little poser, Cook, he IS nearly universally panned here - figure it out on your own. And just a tip - some dude who won what amounts to a glorified talent show should understand his place and not try to cover songs that are simply too big for him in nearly every possible way.

[Dude]

Lucas....LMAO!!!

hehehehe ..THAT type of thing is why I come here, some peoples here are VERY funny..e.g. your comment brightened my day..lmao:)..thx

and, Mr Freeze, you have big boots to fill, we like our Tim Flynn, quite a bit, I hope he hurries back

[Jill]

Personally, I think David Cook's rendition of this song is great. Thanks for posting.

[Emily]

All of you making fun of David Cook would've made fun of the Beatles in their day, too. You never would've supported a band that had their level of young girls following them.

[Jack]

oh, squeeeeeeelllll, me too, davey cook is sooooo cute. He is not just for cougars, iwoner if he took today off too.

[what up]

I have made the point about the beatles before..

They may have started the English invasion, but look how long they lasted....
just 4, or so, years?

1961-1969?flash in the pan
but, my math be off alil;)

and yes, dear Em, you are correct, I probably would have made fun of them, heck I still do.

[greenman]

Yeah, that's it, David Cook is seen as a talent show winning poser because....drum roll...."the level of young girls" following him. It's bad enough he had to completely ruin John Lennon's fine song, please don't use his name in the same sentence, paragraph, written or spoken in the same language as The Beatles. There is and never will be anything to compare.

[joe]

"look how long they lasted..." "...flash in the pan..."

Wow. I am not one to get into arguments online... But I must comment regarding Jack's last statement. In no way do I feel anybody has to like the Beatles music. But I can't understand how some people fail to respect it for what it truly is. What this band contributed to the current world of popular music is incalculable. Their impact reaches most forms of popular music today and their impact will continue for as long as music is made and heard. Very few artists can claim that type of impact. Jack, with all due respect, your comments make you appear uninformed. Again, I have no problem if you don't like the Beatles' music, but statements such as "flash in the pan" speak to your inability, or unwillingness to think reasonably about a certain group of English musicians.

[MikeA]

Yoko was the first to ruin Lennon's"fine song" with that caterwalling co-lead.

[Gary Dean]

Dude

It's Tim Finn
NOT Tim Flynn

[Jack]

LOL
oh i forgot the beatles are more popular than heysuis,

i stand by the statement that they lasted way too short a time to deserve the accolades you think they deserve. iggy pop contibuted just as important spices, and the spicegirls have lasted longer than this flash in the pan band.

sure they helped the cause of RnR, but with no longevity, no real touring support, 1/2 hour concerts and bloated egos imploded the band way too soon.

[onthemark]

Jack, I have the feeling you are just chumming the water waiting for someone to take your bait. I for one am not going to get into a discussion with anyone who considers The Beatles a 'flash in the pan band'! The statement itself is the very definition of ludicrous. However, I imagine fellow posters will be a bit more strident in their opinions...

[Jack, you're a damn fool]

oh jack, how uninformed you are. there's a lot of reasoning behind why the beatles stopped touring. who knows what would have happened if they had kept touring. there's a good chance that their best recordings (excluding revolver, because they were still touring) 1967-forward might not have ever happened.

the beatles stopped touring because they were tired of what shows like american idol do to artists: they put them through ridiculous schedules, overwork them, and try to reduce their amount of artistic freedom.

the beatles said F-U to all of that and subsequently were able to plug themselves into the studio and create songs that revolutionized music all across the world - to this day.

to say that iggy pop contributed as much or more than the beatles is just ridiculous.

hell, "helter skelter," in my opinion, is a pretty damn good example of early, raw sounds that became punk. three chords, distortion, screaming lyrics, and a persistent drum beat. iggy pop should be thanking the beatles.

# # #

1961-1969 doesn't equate to four years. get a calculator, if you really need it for simple math.

# # #

it's tim finn. not tim flynn.

[greenman]

Jack, either your level of humour is way above mine or you don't belong on a board that is seriously discussing popular music. Nice to have you and others (like the chick who compared David Cook to the Beatles)around though for some comic relief. Good one.

I'm no Beatles fan, but to not give them their due as a band without peer is to not understand the history of pop music.

[kmoon]

wow, Jack A$$. You are obviously ignorant about music, so maybe you should stick to blogging about some other subject. Maybe hip hop.

[Jack]

beetles vs Stones?

how do they compare kansascitians?

[Cook fan]

For those of you calling David Cook a "poser" -- do your research. In high school, Cook formed the band Axium, which won a national independent band contest (check out Axium on You Tube), later played with the Midwest Kings (2 of its members are touring with him now, Andy Skib and Neil Teiman), and had released his independently produced solo CD called Analog Heart to much critical acclaim before appearing on Idol. The guy just needed a break -- and the fact that he was smart enough to pursue his dream doesn't make him a poser. BTW - he charted 11 songs on Billboard Top 100 after his AI stint (second only to the Beatles). Don't believe me? Start with Wikipedia, do some more research, and then talk. Puh-lease.

[Jack]

and
kmoon I did get, and appreciate, your joke, hip hop is NOT music, LOL

[Emily]

For the record, I was not comparing David Cook to the Beatles. I was saying that many people on this board would make fun of the Beatles if they were a new band that was just now coming on the scene.

[Jack]

it is dangerous to quote wiki as a source..prolly better to just lie, or/and fudgee numbers, like 61-69 is only 4 four years.

[Dude]

I am just glad Tom Fine has this great blog.

[greenman]

Good one, MikeA - my respect for the Beatles stops at Yoko - she destroyed John and the band.

[jack]

SO, respect ONLY for the dead, gone, has beens, or/and "the contest winners", i see. how very pathetic.

[greenman]

Maybe you should put a link to this blog on DC's wikipage so that people will know how bad people in his own hometown think he sucks.

[jack]

so, no cute comments about beetles vs Stones, eh?
classic KC pompus ignorance, and you say i dont know?

DC = beetles?? and the Stones are not worth a comment?
that is so funny. ok, revel in your DC BS, and good luck to you.

[NotAHater]

I think the cover was fine. His best stuff, no, but I liked it all the same.

And don't generalize that all people in his hometown think David Cook sucks. I think he's great, and it's not because I think he's "cute" or "hot" or whatever. I think he's extremely talented and I love his music. I don't think he's a poser and I don't think he's a flash in the pan either.

But wow, some people around here can be real jerks. Give the guy some credit. He's worked really hard to get to where he is. I agree with what Jack posted- he definitely has paid his dues. He's been struggling for 10 years to get to where he is, and if that means he's a poser, then whatever. But people who hate DC are probably the people that like Britney Spears' "Womanizer" so who am I to say anything? Because she's no poser.

[NotAHater]

Whoops, sorry, I guess that was Cook Fan that said it.

[Skylar]

It all seems like a rampant case of extreme jealousy on the part of a bunch of hometown losers who wish they had the talent and the BALLS to make something of their little midwestern lives and hate that one of their own has done just that!

Every time I read something out of KC about David Cook, it's absurdly nasty.

[Vandelay]

David Cook's version of this song is just fine. Plenty of "non-legendary" musicians have covered it without people calling for their head. I heard Sarah McLachlan's version the other day, and I like Cook's version better than hers. (I'm just really tired of her voice, to be honest). And as much as I love the Beatles, "Happy Xmas" isn't really one of my favorite Christmas songs to begin with. I wouldn't call it a classic.

[define "flash in the pan"]

i think it's a bit too early to determine if david cook can be considered a flash in the pan.

it wasn't THAT long ago that he took the idol title. the star is still glowing some, but it could fade incredibly quick.

will he still be in the limelight in one year? five years? ten years? i don't think the 15 minutes are up, but they're definitely ticking...

[greenman]

'rittle Cook fanboys n girls, go on off to school - the next DC will be along shortly and you can listen to his songs 50 times a day on your little teengirl radio stations. DC is a waste and deserves no more mention on a blog dedicated to discussion of authentic pop music - not this prepackaged crap that boywonder puts out.

[hoopstar]

It doesn't matter what he was doing before hand. How many no name bands (only his fans would know) he wasted his time on, or what things he's sold to the sheep that waste their life away watching American Idol.

The bottom line is if you aren't good enough to make your own break, then you probably didn't/don't deserve to make it period. David Cook is no exception to this rule.

As for the Beatles are you really going to use this as a line for arguing david cook? oh, they only lasted 7 years? It's about quality not quantity. Let's see which gutter we can pull David Cook from in 7 years.

Another thing about the Beatles. I would not have made fun of them because they were writing their own shit. Any ass clown that can 'sing' can do American Idol. Do what people that make quality music do. Make it on your own.

[NEW]

Cook fan,

Sure, I agree David Cook is a good musician and artist and has probably paid his share of dues. So have the Gaslights, Republic Tigers, Arthur Dodge and and slew of other area artists. Forget the silly Beatles comparison. He is a decent guitarist but he pales in comparison to Chris Meck (Gaslights) or Nick Schnebling (TUF) and he is a decent songwriter but he pales in comparison to Chad Rex or Iris Dementhe. And I'm just fishing locally here.

My point is David Cook is just fine but there are a lot of great artists in the KC area just as good if not better. I guess the only difference is they are not willing to put their integirty on the line by choose an outlet as cheezy and commercial as American Idol as their path to success.

[greenman]

Well said, NEW, well said. I think Iris is playing with John Prine in Springfield in February. I got tickets because I didn't see any local dates and the tour moves east out of Springfiled.

[Dude]

omg, "where is Tim?",
oh no:(
I am very sad to hear of Tim's loss. It really puts this drival we debate in perspective. It is all meaningless compared to our friend lossing his wife, I am shattered.

[Heather]

i use to love david cook until I found out he was dating Kim Caldwell...what a loser. He completely lost credibility. Behind his back people and fans are laughing at him because she is actually making him look so amatuer. Wow, didn't know David liked hanging with D listers.