I actually had you down as my number 1 pick. So, there is that.
1. King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man
We haven't had much in the way of progressive rock in Idol. We've had a fair share of Prog Metal and bands like Rush, so we're starting to branch out a bit here with a song like this. It vibrates with power and yet it remains incredibly catchy. The use of the jazz horns coupled with an amazing rhythm section helps to elevate the song's effect. The manic vocals and a lengthy section that highlights the drums and bass, returning to the horns... there's a sense of musical indulgence here. The lightning quick bass and drum section is wonderful to someone with my musical tastes. I applaud this choice; I'm a King Crimson fan but I don't believe I've heard this song in it's entirety. The musical flourishes add some much to the condensed version. Asuka's NXT theme plays off the main riff, so there is that neat little association. To me, this is just a massive song and I can find layers and layers of sounds to enjoy.
2. The System - Don't Disturb This Groove
Less obvious choices get my attention. The vocals are beautiful and have a smooth intensity that picks up at moments like at around the 1:00 point. There's also a degree of naughtiness present, as there are references to sin and "do not disturb signs". I think the female vocals are used to their best advantage later in the song and the "yes" at around the 2:40 point is silky and seductive, with the song slowing down to accentuate that moment. The song gently flows out to an ending that fits the song well. The electronic beat serves the song well and has a rich sound, one that is a bit of a hallmark for r and b of the time. I appreciate seeing the musical diversity at play here, a song that seems reactive to me and not a song that was saved up for use. I may be wrong, but I like the reactive nature here of the choice.
3. Natalie Imbruglia - Wishing I Was There
There is a ton of charisma coming off the singer here. While "Torn" was a bigger hit from her album, I enjoy the more pop-oriented sensibility shown here. The psuedo-rap at parts is fun and she hits her high notes very well. It's such a catchy song, one that would be a lot of fun to sing. It ends well with the guitar notes strumming: very clean and enjoyable. The rhythm here is in the mode of pop-rock of that time period, a sound that you can find to accompany many a female singer, but it works well here and keeps the energy up, as she changes her tone at times. The chorus is effective with the layering of sound. The focus is on her vocals, which are very pretty in her way, and I think this was a fine choice for the Round. It's pop music that is memorable and, when you can get that going, it's tough to beat that combo.
4. The Zombies - Imagine The Swan
The Zombies are an important band because of the degree of experimentation they played around with. There are tonal shifts in the vocals here and a heavy, persistent drum beat that are very risky for a pop rock song at this time. There's such a sense of longing in the vocals and the references to the draining of color makes this song stand out to me. The emotions are complex here, melancholic and haunted. The use of the keyboard (harpsichord?) here is unusual and adds a fullness to the song even as the drum increases in intensity. The keyboard sound at the end, high and keen, makes the song feel almost gothic, especially when matched with the vocals. This is very different than the other songs in this Round and I love that the player went in this direction. This is such a fantastic pick that feels of its time and yet has such eccentricities to its sound that it feels somewhat off in a enjoyable fashion. It's a love song but the kind of love is rather unnerving.
5. The Mountain Goats - Old College Try
The cleverness of the band here subverts some of the cliches of this sound, while still being a shining example of it at its best. The vocalist has a compelling quality to his performance and the morbid, acid-tone lyrics tell a fine story (contrasting the everyday to things like hell is used to great effect here). The organ playing rounds out the sound here and adds a dimension to the guitar playing that helps it from being too simple. The song is thoroughly modern in subject matter with a older sound, which adds to a timeless quality. Everything sounds so sincere; it might be a sincerity gained from suffering, from harsh sarcasm, but I feel that the vocalist is bare here. I buy him, which is essential in this type of music. Great pick for this Round because it challenges one's notion of what to take seriously and what not to.
6. t.A.T.u. - All About Us
So much intensity here
. I don't know if I quite buy it, but I like the attempt. This song is ear candy to the nth degree and I wonder just how many anime music videos were made to this. I think it work well with your more dramatic teen movie trailers. I think this is quite a degree better than "All the Things You Said", with these vocals that have a girlish quality even at their heaviest. The harmonies are too reminiscent of their earlier hit to be truly astonishing but I feel the production is handled very well and in a way to add more gravity to the group this time around. There are quite lovely moments of singing, but I don't know if emotionally they connects well enough to be taken all that seriously. There's a sense of melodrama at work here but, considering what the band aims to do, I feel that it's appropriate here. That said, the song is a bit limited because you question how genuine the voice is here. It's almost as if they are playing with the tropes here instead of creating something of their own.
7. Ryan Adams ft. Adam Duritz - Answering Bell
I find a Band-like (as in the Band musical group) vibe to this performance and that's a great feeling to have in a song. I don't think its concrete enough for me, ultimately; it feels like it wants to embrace a particular feeling instead of truly telling its own story. The vocals are on point and I appreciate the guitar work, but it straddles the edge of a more country music sound and a pop one and I think something is lost when it goes too far into pop territory. I do get the sense of longing at the heart of the song, but I want a bit more of a rawness, a bit more idiosyncrasy. There's nothing wrong at all with this sound, but it's not as adventurous as other offerings this Round. The keyboards help prop up the song a bit, but they sort of fall into cliche as well. Now, execution trumps innovation, ultimately, so I feel right in ranking this about middle of the group, because it does what it wants to well. Nothing wrong with that and I think it again adds to the diversity of the Round, which I'm loving, but I wish there was a bit more to this, a bit more that got away from the performer.
8. Clay Aiken - Solitaire
At times, there is a great amount of power to this performance. I do think it's a bit too slow in the beginning for my tastes. The instruments accompany his voice well, but they are rightly in the background. His voice is perhaps too trembling for me and I don't enjoy his voice when its going for a deeper sound. His high notes, however, are another story and I appreciate the power behind them. I think his voice would have been better suited for another song here. There are obvious strengths at work here; maybe a song that had more of an emotional edge to it? I like his performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" better for example. It causes him to focus a bit more and he hits his high notes even better. It's risky to use songs like this in this Round because a live performance has elements beyond a performer's control and there's less to embellish the sound with that isn't out and out manipulation. Aiken has a ton of charisma, so that adds to the overall effect, but I think other songs brought more to the table this Round.
9. Kent - If You Were Here
There's a raw quality to the vocalist that I relish, but I don't think the song builds enough to stand with other songs in this Round. It follows the basic rock band song formula to good effect, but I feel that the song needed more. There's a repetitive quality that I wanted to see played with, to have a break with from the rest of the song. There's a crescendo at the song's conclusion that I feel is the best part, but I wanted a bit more. It doesn't necessarily stand out; maybe going with their first language would have worked better. It falls into a post-punk envelope that is very much in my wheelhouse, but I think more could have been done to break away from a rock song structure. The vocalist was likely the best element of the song and I feel that it was a sound that we haven't heard yet so far this Season, so I can't find fault in selecting the song.
10. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Rollercoaster of Love
I'm a huge Chili Peppers fan, but I don't think this was a particularly good song for them to cover. It did exceedingly well with my fellow judges, so there is that, but I felt that there was a certain level of energy lacking in this song. This was a strange period for the band, with Dave Navarro on guitar, which I think the other band members needed more time to adapt to. John Frusciante added so much to their sound and, without him around, they had to turn toward to a more explicitly rock sound. Kedish's vocals are typically a weak point for the band and I don't think they are up to the task here. The backing vocals clash a bit with his delivery and there's too much of a step away from the original vocals. Flea's bass is on display here, as they usually are, and there's a great bass section. The Chili Peppers have an unbelievable rhythm section, but they just didn't gel well enough with Navarro. As Flea said "He's a great rock star," but he just doesn't fit here.
11. Marilyn Manson - Astonishing Panorama of The End Times
Another performance by a band that was going through a change in musical, as well as stylistic, direction. There's a heaviness to the song that I think helps to distinguish it in this Round, but I think its driving sound is a bit too straight-forward for the group. Like the Chili Peppers, not everything added up for the band during this time. There Ziggy Stardust cum T.Rex sound and image isn't as compelling as their gothic music roots. At times it works, like with "Coma White", but I there's not enough of a difference in what they do musically here to help them stand out of their older sound. They follow a familiar structure here and the "You are what you fear" section is too much of a retread. That said, the sound and the energy transcend their limits and Manson's voice is competent enough here to rise to his ideas. I've listened to this band since my high school years and there were ideas and imagery that they came up with that truly made me think, but this is a bit of a throwback sound and image that doesn't completely add up.
12. Bastille - Laura Palmer
I enjoy the vocals but I don't feel that the accompanying music lives up to it. The beats and the use of the strings and assorted sounds seem overproduced. The song also doesn't build as much as I expected after the first minute or so. There is a certain amount of emotional weight to the song and I find the lyrics to be well-written. They match well with the music, but I'm not blown away with the song. The dog barking in the video also breaks the flow of the song. Moreover, the section after that which talks about the gun sounds too jumbled to me, with the piano playing being a bit too much for me. I get the emotions, but I think the song would do better with less production and more of an emphasis on the vocalist. There's too many bells and whistles that detracts from the singing and the guitar use. The songwriting's fine, but it needs less distraction.
13. Hoobastank - Crawling in the Dark
Love the energy throughout the song and the musicianship is on point. I think the song solidly represents its genre and time period, but its almost precisely too on the nose. It's hard to distinguish this from other songs in its subset. The song conventions that it follows makes it a bit repetitive and it ends abruptly. The vocals are performed well, but the effect is a bit less than many of the over songs in this Round. It's straightforward, but it works best when it deviates from the expected, like when the guitarist uses a sort of strafing sound, a kind of scratching. There's a melody at work here and an interplay between slow and fast parts, and I wanted that explored a bit more.
14. Berlin - In Flames
Very familiar sound to the song. I enjoy the synthesizer use and the overall beat, but I don't think the vocals match well with them. The vocals sound a bit weak imo and the lyrics are a bit generic. There's nothing overwhelmingly wrong with the song, but it doesn't stand up to the other songs in this Round. There could have been areas in the song that took more chances with the instrumentation or moments where the lead singer went on lyrical digressions, but it lacked that sort of risk taking. The song itself is from a great period in music and I feel it was worth using for this Round, but it needed to do more.
. I don't know if I quite buy it, but I like the attempt. This song is ear candy to the nth degree and I wonder just how many anime music videos were made to this. I think it work well with your more dramatic teen movie trailers. I think this is quite a degree better than "All the Things You Said", with these vocals that have a girlish quality even at their heaviest. The harmonies are too reminiscent of their earlier hit to be truly astonishing but I feel the production is handled very well and in a way to add more gravity to the group this time around. There are quite lovely moments of singing, but I don't know if emotionally they connects well enough to be taken all that seriously. There's a sense of melodrama at work here but, considering what the band aims to do, I feel that it's appropriate here. That said, the song is a bit limited because you question how genuine the voice is here. It's almost as if they are playing with the tropes here instead of creating something of their own. 
