Pick a Side -- And Stay There!

It has come to my recent attention that people are having problems sticking with their decisions. And no, I am not just referring to Barack Obama's projected flip-flop on troop withdrawals in Iraq. Everyone's doing it. Musicians, politicians, and athletes change their minds constantly, and the general populace struggles to keep up and be on the side with the cool kids. That being said, here are some of more recent shifts that come to mind (and my commentary, of course):

1. Jewel
Pick a genre, dammit! Seriously, folk . . . then some type of pop/top 40 mess . . . Oh, and did I mention she thinks she's a poet? Awful stuff, poetry is more than just writing with line breaks! But back to the genre issue. Okay, so she traveled all over, trying to make it big with her folk-type sound -- she also lived in a van. Someone finally discovered her, and she had a few moderate hits. She then went a little more commercial (not that I blame her, she was living in a van) with a more pop-sounding thing going on. After failing to really make it big on the charts, she did a duet with a country singer. This made her get confused and think that SHE was a country singer. And now she's a judge on Nashville Star, which is pitiful to watch, especially as she coaches the male singers. Congratulations, Jewel. You are a successful second-rate star on an American Idol rip-off. Bottom line: Pop Singer + Steel Guitar = Fake Country = Jewel.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr
Junior wants to go down under. To Australia? Yes, the hectic race season that stretches from February to November isn't enough for little E anymore. I don't have a particular problem with it, but it really wouldn't hurt him to have a life.

3. Hootie (formerly of the Blowfish) aka Darius Rucker
We have another new genre-flopper in alternative-rock-turned-country Rucker. Unlike Jewel though, Rucker had made it big in the 90's as the front man in Hootie & the Blowfish. However, Darius Rucker has recently put out a new country single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It." I actually like the song, his unique vocals give a nice feel to it, even though it doesn't exactly sound like a hard-core country song. However, the big question is how he moved towards country music. Well, he did a series of jingles dressed as a cowboy for Burger King. And, who are we to argue with the King of Greasy Burgers?