ETA: Check out this brand-new interview with David Cook from Entertainment Weekly. It’s pretty in-depth and covers everything from that 2nd indie album David nearly had finished before his Idol stint, to giving Simon the what-for during the Idol finale, to recording his first major label album.
David also elaborates on the themes of some of the songs on his album. We’ve got a lyric thread going on here. See if your interpretation matches David’s! One song “Bar Ba Sol” is from the Atlanta band Injected. A poster from DC-42 found the original song online:
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I’m liking that a lot!
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
- About making his first major-label record - I only hated having to change mindsets. I enjoyed touring and I enjoyed recording, and I hated having to rewire my brain between the two. That was tough….But it helped that [producer] Rob Cavallo and I really hit it off. And I was able to bring my guitar player aboard early. Neal has an idea where my head is at musically, so it was nice to have somebody in the studio, when I wasn’t there, who spoke for me and spoke accurately….I’m still kind of in awe of it. To do what we did in this amount of time is no small feat. We essentially put a year’s worth of work into three months.
David Cook continues to promote his single “Light On” in a couple of radio interviews from this morning, and I have them right here for your listening pleasure!
The listeners of WKZL in Greensboro, NC give “Light On” a thumbs up during a “Make it or Break it” segment. David talks about writing “Permanent” with Raine Maida.
107.5 WKZL Greensboro, NC (from Jolene on DCO - thnx) -
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This interview, from z99.5 out of Indianapolis has David describing his stage fright before he took the stage on Saturday Night Live. “I remember just being really nauseous and dry heaving, I was so scared…it’s a different vibe from Idol for sure…”
Nevertheless, he says he had a “blast” and that the cast couldn’t have been nicer. He attended the after-party with host Ben Affleck, his wife Jennifer Garner and the rest of the SNL cast.
z99.5 Indianapolis, IN -
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In other news. David took in a Carrie Underwood concert in Los Angeles Wednesday night…
Someone on Australian Idol sang Billie Jean again. Oh people, stop trying.
That Boston Herald article is kind of bizarre, like the author felt he didn’t even need to listen to DC’s record to critique it. It’s mostly about other Idols, and there’s nothing very specific about the actual music. Ah well, I suppose this is only the first of the snobbish reviews from big city newspapers. Those types of reviews didn’t seem to affect the tour much, so I’m not going to worry about it.
The 30 second sample of Bar-Ba-Sol has been stuck in my head all evening. Need David’s full version ASAP!
ETA: Uh-oh- I didn’t hear anyone on Australian Idol mention Chris Cornell OR David Cook. Do you suppose they’ll team up to make a big fuss about it? LOL ;0)
I love how that guy didn’t just use the Chris Cornell version…he also borrowed David’s AI performance arrangement down to the modulated glory note toward the end. It was good all-in-all, but unfortunately, we heard/saw David’s first, and he can’t belt it or sell it like David can.
Oops, okey I was wrong. It’s not the interview that’s in EW, but a Very nice article. He played at the Viper Room before? Wow.
CathyMK I agree, that was a bizarre article in the Boston Herald. I found this particularly mean:
Taylor Hicks would probably take offense at this, if he wasn’t busy cutting a ribbon at a Wal-Mart somewhere in Alabama.
I don’t think the writer really listened to the album, nor is a rock fan. I’m not sure what point of any significance he is
trying to make. Idol peers? I don’t get it. He says Cook is different because he’s a rocker on the “heavy” side but then compares him to “all the rest.” Makes no sense. I’ve dismissed it. And I don’t live in Boston.
I’m not sure I liked that article at the printed EW. His attitude is more cocky than in the one online. I want people to like him. Oh well, his album will speak for itself once it’s out. (although I’m one of those that find it difficult to overcome my dislike for an artist)
But I really love the printed EW article! From his mischevious ribbing of Kyle the Animal (LOL) in the beginning, through all his blunt and honest insecurities and shortcomings, and then his simple pride in what was achieved in that hellish timeline (like he said:
I get what he means completely. If a parent is proud of their baby, is that cocky? My mom calls it love and pride. No matter how I do in life or how I stack up against anyone else, I’ll always be her baby. Hee. What he said. Love it.
I didn’t find it cocky but then again, I’m one of the few who said WTF?! Simon when he accused Cookie of being smug. I like the snapshots that we see of him: fun, serious, insecure…
I like the printed EW article, too.
Ok, so I guess it’s just the first part (where he calls the drummer b—- ) and the end part that I don’t like. But still :(
Since he’s going to the USO tour, does that mean he’s not gonna drop by the philippines like he mentioned before?
That’s understandable. I’m not fond of the profanity, but I know he’s kidding, so I let it go… I see how someone who knows little to nothing about him could be thrown off by parts of the article, though.
Growing up in a male dominated family, that’s just the way they roll.
is actually (believe it or not, LOL!) a term of endearment! It’s like we gals saying: “We have to get going, sweetie” *giggles*. They would NEVER say that sort of thing to women (at least the good guys), but will not hesitate to unleash it to their male object of affection!
Oh, we girls say bitch instead of sweetie as well, LOL.
Affectionately? *ducks for cover!*
Have a feeling the article is aimed squarely at the Y chromosomes.
And the pics are aimed at the XYs (hope I haven’t screwed the science here!).
Eh, lol. I call my girl friends bitches all the time. Not in a mean way, a term of endearment. I would only do that to my CLOSE friends though. Even in his old myspace blogs he talked like that. I love that side of him, actually. I’ve been missing it. But I’m one of those who floved his Creep’s intro and I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. :)
Love the part about the record being his baby. AW.
You bet your sweet ass, honey! No need to duck for cover, though. Let’s hug it out, bitch! Seriously, though, Entourage? Massive catchphrase, says the pop culture junkie. I don’t think the word bitch is all that provocative anymore.
Is it okay if we play a cover? Heh. I would like to thank EW for the mental image of David standing on the Viper Room stage, soaking it in, and flipping that old A&R dude the bird. God love him. This is my favorite article to date. It embraces the conundrum that is Cook: a really sweet, goofy, down to earth guy who’s fully aware that he’s the reigning American Idol but also a very proud man and serious about his music, a guy who likes to occasionally rock his face off with introspective lyrics that are not the typical ode to testosterone that usually accompany the phrase “rock his face off.” Best example of that to date is the Axium song AC. It’s a hard rockin sound with lyrics that grab your heart. Sounds like this record will have a little piece of that Dave, which makes me happy because I think AC is brilliant, if not easily marketable. (My sig O and I have this running joke that most of the songs on his favorite classic rock station are about one of five things : chicks/sex, rocking out, being a badass, alcohol/drugs, or being ticked off. Seriously, there’s one song they play wherein I swear the only lyrics are shotgun…and flaa aaa ammes. ) I like how the Daughtry reference is approached in that EW piece…cautiously, because yes Daughtry is the only touchstone for post-AI rock sucess yet Cook is a completely different animal. I hope radio is ready for him, I really do, and I hope his label knows what to do with him. Time will tell, though. Walks off humming “how do you solve a problem like Coookie…”
LOL! He’s seen that video? I watch it all the time for a good laugh. Dang! I need to watch it again. LOL!
Actually, there’s one of a preteen who totally loses it when David Cook wins. She’s so excited…even mutters under her breath “Watch Archuleta win….” He should watch that to balance it out.
If that Boston Herald review is the worst thing that we see from a critic, I’d be pleased. It may not be a glowing review, but it does suggest that it is a real rock record and a sign that rock is back. I’ll take it.
Thx for posting the EW article. Should be interesting to see how the EW review comes out.
Reset your coundowns guys.
My friends and I (guys and girls) call each other bitch all the time, so I’m cool with that. That said, I have to agree with redridinghood…
The part that bothers me is that I’ve seen his banter on stage, and it’s great because even when he jokes about how he used to play at that club down the street, or being turned down by band auditions or whatever, you can tell right away that he’s not being cocky because of his delivery. What I don’t like about Chris Willman is I’m just not a fan of his writing. I don’t think the way he described the Viper Room banter did DC any favors, and I have a gut feeling it came off much better in person.
I liked the online version better because it was mostly Q&A so Willman couldn’t screw up, and I’ll grant that he had good questions, but even there, I found his intro paragraph to be a drag to read. He just doesn’t do a good job capturing the essence of DC and why he’s so likeable, even when he’s got good material, IMO. The Wayne Isham gushing and DC joking about being an A-hole– I just didn’t think he wrote that part well, with the abrupt transition between DC “demurring” and the subsequent joke– I want to know how he demurred first! I dunno, I hate to go on a rant, but Willman’s writing irks me– it’s flowery and unnecessary:
Even when he’s nice about DC, he’s not convincing any haters because he sounds like he’s just fawning when uses nice words without backing it up. Stop telling and show, dammit! Okay, end rant on writing, haha.
No kidding. Most of the David-Cook-related-comments on EW and TVGuide reviews of SNL were from guys generally saying, I can’t believe that guy won American Idol! They’re pretty good. Trying to cut the apron strings, I presume.
DAVID COOK ALBUM SNEAK PEEK (complete tracks on-demand)
American Idol’s seventh season winner, David Cook, lets audiences get the first taste of his 12-track debut self-titled album, which features his top twenty single, “Light On,” and possible next single, “Declaration.” His Sneak Peek is being offered on-demand on over 190 Clear Channel Radio web sites before its November 18th release date.
WHEN: November 13th.
WHERE: www.iheartmusic.com
Source: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081107005090&newsLang=en
http://www.davidcookofficial.com/content/album-sneak-peek-november-13
*SQUEEEEEEEE*
Thank you, Widz!!
You’re welcome!
But I don’t think international fans can stream from iheartmusic :(
boohoo. someone better rip it for moi! haha :D
Thank you!!!!!!!
Oh I have a way to stream it heehee…
XY=Male
XX=Female
YY=Dead
I’m guessing you mean article aimed at the XYs and pics at the XXs?
This quote has endeared Cook to me a little. I also love to stay up at night alone and watch videos of early-teen girls crying. They weep and weep, and I love that.
^Can anyone post a link to the video he’s talking about?
Thanks Kirsten, that’s what I meant. Pretty sure that Bar-ba-sol could wake up the YYs though…..
Aaaw, I really wish we could get a hold of the Viper Room sessions. That is one gold-plated Cookie crumb.
And sunchick:
I tried that line on some friends. There was dead silence for 4 seconds (I counted), and they just started howling and gasping!! LMAO. Uh oh, I think it’s catching.
If it was friends and family only, that would explain why there have been no leaks. I couldn’t believe that, if it was just a show-up, that no one would have identified him and videotaped the performance for youtube posting.
I still flinch when I hear it, but I’m in the minority.
YellowClouds, here’s the link of the video refered to by DC in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70f0chZVudA
R-O-F-L.
This is HANDS DOWN the funniest thing on youtube right now. Thinking about david watching it makes it even funnier somehow.. I can imagine him showing it to the band and all of them loosing it..
Thanks for finding the link!
I guess the Boston Herald is saying even though it’s generic rock,they think it will be a big hit. Or rock is coming back because Cook won Idol. It’s kind of tough to figure out. So it looks like Declaration will be the second single.
I’m interested to see how the Cook promo pans out. Its sort of a two pronged attack establishing rock cred and pushing the hottie thing for the ladies. It’s a little tough to pull off because usually the males buying this music aren’t into the sexy guy stuff.
I wish more males posted here. I’d love to hear their take on Cook’s album.
Couple of new interviews this morning with Mix in Chicago and Z104. Nothing really earthshattering but he bought a Lexus ha!! Declaration he co-wrote with Johnny Rzeznik. Here’s the Mix interview. Yes to “Declaration” for next single please!
I love that EW print interview. It touches on some very good points and it sounds like they realize it may be tough to establish rock cred while catering to the AI fanbase. I agree upthread the article targets the male demo while the pictures are more targeted to women.
I think it’s more that they don’t like guys who are pretty-boys, which David is in no danger of. He’s not all glossy and overly groomed like he’s in some boy band. Most frontmen for popular rock bands end up being sex symbols, no matter what they look like. Take Mick Jagger as an example. I’ve always thought he’s ugly as hell, but even in his 60’s, he’s got women screaming for him. The Rolling Stones have always been popular with guys too, to say the least. As long as a rock singer as seen as masculine (whatever the current version of that is with young guys), attractive to women, and sings music guys like, he’ll be admired and looked up to by other guys. Sort of another version of the alpha male thing.
I listened to the Mix interview. I’m so glad the host, Eric didn’t get him confused with Archie. He did that about a month ago after they play TOML. But He was annoying as he always, he was talking over Cook, like he does everyone. But I that my little beef with that show. Sorry
It’s hard to do that sort of conversation over the phone. When you do conference calls, people inevitably talk over each other, particularly if they don’t know each other’s speech patterns. So, I’d give the deejay a bit of leeway on that.
Normally I would, it’s just that morning show drives me nuts. And it’s the only station that plays music I like. So I know I should deal.
BTW, as someone who has always been amused by llamas (I totally blame Sesame Street), I love your userid, llamacook.
I agree! I thought it had some really good things to say! The first line was awesome! IMO. Maybe I’m missing something….
Wwwwhat’s today’s date? The 13th can.not. come soon enough!
So much to read, watch and listen to…I’ll have to come back later. Thanks EVERYONE for posting.
I’m not sure it’s the rock cred factor and the sex symbol factor that might have difficulty coexisting. Rock is often pretty sexy. I think it’s the rock cred factor and the nice, accessible, family loving, heart on his sleeve Midwestern boy factor that are going to be a bit of a sticky wicket to reconcile. Can RCA successfully market a senstive rocker who is musically equally influenced by Temple of the Dog’s Hunger Strike and Collective Soul’s The World I Know? Well, people seemed to dig Cook’s take on Hello well enough, so maybe it’s crazy enough that it just might work. The thing Cook has going in his favor, IMO, is that I don’t get the impression that he’s you know like a dog constantly straining at his old AI leash. I think he really is all of those things and if the record buying public can dig it, he’s golden.
I agree. OMG. Thanks for the link to that video. I have never seen that before! That is just hilarious. How over the top are tween fans? LOL. Geesh, was I ever like that? Probably…but it was too long ago to remember!
I think he really is all of those things and if the record buying public can dig it, he’s golden
The big if is the public beyond AI.
Radio interviews are lovely, print interviews are lovely, photos are LOVELY! He IS golden. The Golden Goober from the Midwest Who Won The Lottery…and can SANG like nobody else. And who is talented, smart, witty, kind, sensitive…oh sorry, was I getting OT and/or fangirly? Heeheehee…LOLOLOLOL more like it!
Come on, he’s a GUY, a 25 year old man who just made the big time after working towards it for 10 years. He’s incredibly talented and smart, but he’s still just a regular GUY. Did we all think he never spoke a curse word? Well, I didn’t think that about him. And it doesn’t put me off one bit. Probably the opposite effect - makes me feel like he’s more like ME, ordinary weirdo that I am.
I have no idea what radio will do with Cook. I haven’t heard Light On on ANY of the )#(*$)#( stations I attempt to listen to in hopes. Even though it was on their front page banners online, NO hear-y song yet, oh dumba** stations. SOOOO I will bring along my own music, thank you. I keep hearing all kinds of songs on this AC/HOT AC station and I think “Light On could come before or after THAT….” But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
I do know that I’m buying whatever he’s selling. Oh gotta go shoe shopping! Look, something shiny…listen, it’s David Cook, gotta go!