American Idol!, the Beatles & Michael Jackson, Six (No Three Degrees) of Separation

As huge a show as American Idol has undoubtedly become over the years, it would still appear that you need a hell of a lot of clout to wrangle permission to use certain songs from years gone by. And so it was with a self-congratulatory surge of breast-beating nostalgia that American Idol finally secured permission to use the songs of Lennon-McCartney & the Beatles, which just so happened to coincide rather nicely with 'Michael Jackson's' current financial hardships and his continuing efforts to keep the 'Neverland Ranch' from falling prey to overpaid British Soccer Players. Well, one anyway! I'm sure the coffers offered by the American Idol juggernaut cemented that deal toute-suite given Michael Jackson's constant need for the green stuff. Let us not forget that Mr. Jackson outbid Sir Paul McCartney many moons ago for the Copyrights to afore-mentioned Beatles catalogue and that only now, after many years of watching and listening to Beatles ditties accompanying TV ads have the chaps and chapettes at American Idol been able to secure their use.

Unfortunately for American Idol as the years go by so does culture's tastes along with the faded memories of things that once were. Most of the Beatles songs were written and performed not only before all the wrinkle free contestants were born but in some cases before the contestants parents (ergo: wrinklies) may have been born. Some of the Idol finalists looked positively bemused at having to sing 40+ year old tunes and a few seemed to have taken pot-luck with absolutely no affinity or point of reference with the songs available to them. Notice the absence of any surviving Beatles video-feed commentary on how the songs were performed. I'm sure Sir Paul is pissed off enough without watching his Beatles back-catalogue hung out to dry accompanied by the dodgy warblings of those young folks who were, to quote 'Laurie Anderson' 'A Hershey bar in their fathers back pocket' when the songs were written.

Michael Jackson still hanging 'Sir' Paul McCartney out to dry!

Credit: MTV.com

Copyright: MTV.com