Music Blogs

In 2008, after years of stagnation and status quo, America's voters once again had HOPE. The vote was rocked, and finally we had CHANGE. Some of us thought we'd never see the day that someone like this--fresh, new, different, charismatic, seemingly an underdog--would come out of nowhere to capture the attention and cult-like devotion of a nation, and then win by such a landslide.

But yes, he did.

I am, of course, talking about David Cook. Who did you think I was talking about?

Yes, in the seventh season of American Idol, David became the first rocker to win the Idol title. Many rock fans, including myself, had previously assumed only pop, R&B, or country singers had a chance of winning on this show...but David proved them all wrong, becoming the dark-horse season 7 favorite due to his inspired rock reinterpretations of Lionel Richie's "Hello" and Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby." David incredibly set out to do what even Chris Daughtry could not--rock all the way to the Idol finale--and the rock 'n' roll world rejoiced when he ultimately won. It was a new day.

But since David's victory on behalf of downtrodden rockers everywhere, he hasn't, well, been rocking all that much, really. First, on his inaugural single--the hokey triumph-of-the-spirit power ballad "Time Of My Life"--he was forced to croon truly cringe-inducing, clichéd couplets about magic rainbows, finding his wings, or some such non-rockin' nonsense. (At least, I'd like to think he was forced, by Clive Davis or 19 Management or whoever, since I still believe enough in David to imagine he would not choose to sing such drivel of his own free will.)

Sure, I was dismayed by the toothlessness and all-around unrockin'-ness of "Time Of My Life"--I still think the more uptempo coronation song David elected to perform at this year's Idol finale, "Dream Big," would have been a more appropriate and memorable first single--but again, I still clung to hope. Specifically, hope that 19 Management and BMG Records wouldn't make David record an entire album of mawkish mush like this.

Well, I'm becoming even more disillusioned after the release "Light On," the lead single and video off David's upcoming major-label debut album. It's a totally forgettable, generically Nickelbackian, rock-by-numbers affair that sounds like a tossed-off outtake from Daughtry's CD:

Ugh. Did I sit up all night rocking the vote, speed-dialing Cook's number at a tendonitis-inducing pace last season, so he could record this sort of pap? I thought this year was going to be the year of CHANGE! But this is the same old MOR stuff every C-list schlock-rock band is churning out these days.

However, having listened to David's independently released pre-Idol album, the now impossible-to-find Analog Heart, I know that he has the potential to make decent music. And so, I do still have some hope that David's album, being released next week, will feature a few actual hooky rock tracks. I know he can do it, if the Idol powers-that-be give him the opportunity.

Yes he can. Yes he can. Or can he?