With the exception of Katelyn Epperly's quasi-funereal cover of Coldplay last week, this year's "American Idol" semi-finalists have shown predictably tame, somewhat bland taste in song choice. And while it's been the same cavalcade of Gavin DeGraw, Sam Cooke and much-feared covers of "The Climb," a handful of contestants have shown they have a jones for some more indie-leaning music.
Because singing the song the judges tell you to doesn't always work out, we've got some suggestions for the remaining singers based on their recent Tweets.
Resident quirky girl Siobhan Magnus revealed to fans on Sunday that she is "over the moon happy!" because "Hole is playing a reunion show next month! I could cry!" Well Maggie, since you're such a fan of Courtney Love's grunge-era histrionics, here's our suggestion for a song you could play on "Idol" that would kill it: "Awful." It's a great, rocking guitar pop tune about how the star machine tries to break wild young girls' spirit. What could be more perfect?
Over in Lilly Scott land, we learned that "Brian Jonestown Massacre always gets me in the mood for Idol haha." Wow. Really? Now that is interesting. Scott's choice of the long running San Francisco psych rock band led by the incredibly unpredictable Anton Newcombe shows she's got a dark, weird side that is yearning to emerge. With hundreds of songs to choose from (each more obscure than the next), we're going to go with the little ditty "Going to Hell." The tune about a spurned lover wishing his ex's fiery demise is a charmingly toe-tapping Beatles-esque ditty that appeared in the original "American Pie" movie and would surely throw Simon for a loop.
Not all the "Idol" semi-finalists were busy showing their musical geek quotient over the weekend. While Casey James was going to the beach on his Sunday off and Lee Dewyze was chillin' with Andrew Garcia, Epperly was showing a bit more music geek taste than we expected from the Lisa Loeb-ian singer/songwriter. "Radiohead gets me through the long days," she tweeted on Sunday.
That one's easy. If Epperly wants to secure a spot in the Top 12, she can’t go wrong if she picks "High and Dry" from The Bends. It's a nice, dynamic song and would allow her to show off her falsetto (assuming she has one). If she messes with the arrangement and plays it with a bit of an acoustic reggae vibe, the judges should eat it up.
As for what Tim Urban is obsessing about, well, let's say his tweeting abilities are about as sharp as his singing. "Today is absolutely beautiful here!" revved the cute but talent deficient cat-like singer who should be on his eighth musical life by now. "Hopefully I'll get to enjoy it!" Soak it up, Timmy, we suspect the end may be nigh. Might we suggest Fall Out Boy's "Thnks fr the Mmrs?"
What indie rock songs would you like to see "American Idol" contestants sing? Let us know in the comments!