This week, Steven Tyler — formerly of Aerosmith and presently of American Idol — has made my Things That Tick Me Off list. I watched the two playoff games last night, but the Ravens-Patriots Game began with one of the most painful renditions of the national anthem in the history of mankind by Tyler, who appeared to be offering a rendition (below) of what the song if it was played by strangling a cat. Of course, now that he has made our “Things That Tick Me Off” list I expect his television and singing career will now be over.
Fortunately, Kristin Chenoweth restored the dignity of the nation by singing at the Giants-49ers game. It was hard to tell it was the same song. I am a big fan of Chenoweth from her legendary performances in Wicked. For Broadway musical fans, she is a standout talent and she thrilled the crowd with an awesome performance. I was very sad for the 49ers on the loss (which looked a lot like the loss by the Bears to the Broncos with an disastrous fumble in overtime). It is incredible that people have made death threats against Kyle Williams for his fumble . Bears fans know how disappointing such moments can be but I saw the play and only felt bad for Williams. He was going all out to try to gain yards for his team. However, Chenoweth left millions with a wonderful musical memory that cleared the palate for those of us coming over from the Patriots game.
I have never watched American Idol (a commitment I hope to carry with me to the grave), but I fail to see how Tyler can cast judgment on others when offering such a dismal performance. What I cannot understand is how the organizers would pick Tyler over a Vaudeville one-man-band or twenty trained barking dogs.
