Daughtry - "Leave This Town"

Daughtry
"Leave This Town"
J Entertainment
Released July 14, 2009

I'm going to review this hack's concert tonight, so to paraphrase Neil Innes "I've suffered for my art, now it's your turn."

Question #1: How come the guy who finished third in "American Idol" is the superstar? Guess it pays to be a loser. Taylor Hicks is probably pissed.

This has bothered me since the beginning, when someone like William Hung can get a record contract because of his execrable performance there is something horribly wrong with America.

Granted, chrome-domed "rocker" Chris Daughtry did much better, but if he didn't win, why is he the most successful - where were the legions who bought his album when they were supposed to be calling in and voting for him? Maybe they were at a Three Doors Down concert.

Or maybe it just shows that the whole program is a sham, and the A&R powers that be will reward contracts to the ones they see the most potential in, votes be damned. Sure, the one who gets the most votes will still get the prize, but the voting public's opinion only matters when the cameras are rolling. The decision has already been made in the record label board room.

So now I have to listen to this post-grunge garbage. Competently produced and competently played with just enough distortion and volume to seem like it rocks. Truly there is nothing to say about the lyrics - they are filled with cliches and are utterly unmemorable.

In fact about the only memorable things on "Leave This Town" and the brief attempt at sounding like Tool at the beginning of "You Don't Belong" and the sensitive power ballad "Learn My Lesson," which has a chorus suspiciously similar to the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice."

But I'll give it to the A&R hitmakers - they know just which strings to pull to make an utterly faceless band score a hit record.

I thought bands like Matchbox 20, Creed and Nickelback were considered jokes. Or maybe the joke is on bands that actually show some originality, since these post-grunge idiots are still climbing the charts with their bland, cliched hits.

Which brings me to question #2: When will this post-grunge bullshit go away? Isn't 12 years enough time to subject the public to this crap?

Buy "Leave This Town"