Random 60: Dear American Idol, ditch the lip syncing, please. | Favorite on Viddler.

I’m really sick of the group performances on American Idol. Maybe they wouldn’t be so bad if they were live performances done by the contestants – but in fact they are being lip synced. Yesterday I said on Twitter that, while American Idol is a huge success, they need to ditch the lip syncing sessions pronto. People on Facebook agreed.

Lip syncing? During a singing competition? Please, please, get rid of the group performances altogether. It’d make the first few minutes of American Idol watchable.

The Jack Black Family

Charlie Haden is one of the most respected jazz bassists and jazz composers today. He grew up part of a musical family through the 30s, 40s, and 50s. He sang until he was 15 years old when he was struck with polio which affected his vocal chords.  This is when he picked began to play bass.

Fast forward to the present day and Charlie finds himself with a growing family and an amazing black book filled with some of the world’s foremost talented musicians, singers, and artists.

Charlie’s son-in-law is none other than the singer-songwriter, actor, and comedian Jack Black. Jack Black is married to Charlie’s daughter, Tayna Haden, who is an accomplished cellist herself.

So, the family is pretty much dripping with talent.

Charlie Haden recently brought together his family and incredibly talented friends for a new album Ramblin’ Boy (Charlie Haden and Friends) which was released this year.

Now to my point.

We’re used to hearing Jack Black sing. Anyone that has seen School of Rock or listened to Tenacious D will know that Jack can hold his own with a guitar and as a vocalist. But until Ramblin’ Boy Jack hasn’t really shown his chops outside of Rock. That all changes with Jack Black’s version of Old Joe Clark.

You can listen to a excerpt of Jack Black singing Old Joe Clark through Amazon’s MP3 store.

Also worth your time, if this topic interests you, is a recent episode of Fresh Air on NPR in which Terry Gross interviews Charlie Haden, his daughters and son, and Jack Black about his performance on the album.