Mollee Francisco's blog

It was Fourth of July weekend. The year was 1990. Tapered jeans, florescent-colored socks and scrunchies were all at the height of their popularity.

That fateful weekend, I was attending my first ever concert and it was a dandy. How this came to be, I still can't quite figure out, but my dad (who stopped listening to new music after Led Zeppelin peaked) had agreed to shuttle four (4!) 12-year-old girls to a New Kids on the Block concert on Harriet Island. Was he angling for a father of the year award or what?

Talk about a mixed bag of songs tonight. Finally we got to hear a few contemporary tunes, but we couldn't completely escape the oldies we have clung to so strongly this year.

Paula, Simon and Randy win for best overall song choices (I guess they can keep harping on contestants about song choice, song choice, song choice now).

Then the contestants gave us a glimpse of what kind of recording artists they might be (except for David A. who I cannot see recording R&B tunes when there is so little competition in the Clay Aiken/Josh Groban genre).

While we have been obsessing over getting our own wedding invitations printed, other wedding invitations have been filling our mailbox, signaling the beginning of the wedding season.

These are joyous occassions for our friends who are ready to take that next big step in their adult lives. But somewhere amidst adding wedding dates to our calendar, news of another wedding came tumbling through the grapevine - a wedding we were, quite honestly, less than ecstatic about: My nineteen-year-old cousin had just accepted a wedding proposal from her boyfriend.

Some theme nights seem to have too few songs to choose from, while others seem so vast that the contestants' minds are blown to bits. I think that was the case tonight. Where else would you expect to hear Duran Duran, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley? Talk about hitting random on your iPod.

It didn't seem to do anyone much good to have so many songs to choose from. No one blew me away tonight - a bit disappointing considering we are getting down to the wire.

Wouldn't it have been fun to be watching this episode of American Idol with Neil Diamond tonight? If I were him, I would have had a good chuckle over how safe my catalog was. "Ha ha, nice try Archie. Love the flag!" "Oh yeah, that's gold Brooke - you could have been one of the Monkees." "Why don't you change forever in blue jeans to forever in polyester Castro?"

I'll admit it. I checked my bank account more than a few times yesterday, hoping I would be among the first to get my economic stimulus check. You see, I have one of those social security numbers that falls in the much-desired "first batch" category. I've never given much thought to my social security number before, but this week, I'm sending a big wink-wink to Uncle Sam (or whoever is in charge of handing those puppies out).

Three months of single-life left and Chad and I are on cruise control ... at least, for now. Anything that requires a contract has been signed and deposit checks have been flying out the door.

It's true, we've hit a lull in the wedding planning process and for that, we are quite thankful. It's given us a chance to enjoy the nice weather a bit.

Last weekend, we made the trek to the Brainerd-lakes area to spend the weekend with my grandparents and talk about the ceremony. My grandfather, an ordained minister, will be marrying us this summer.

If you are a fan of musical theater, this was an exciting night for you. Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the kings of Broadway and has created some of the most memorable, and longest running, musicals of all time, so it was nice to hear some of those tonight.

Big voices reigned supreme and danced all over the singer-songwriter-style competition. If you could read and comprehend a lyric, you excelled tonight- even moreso, if you actually saw the production the song came from.  

What I would have given to have been a fly on the wall when producers told the contestants they would be tackling songs from the Mariah Carey catalog. Did they have to get out the smelling salts? Bring in a fainting couch? Oxygen? Talk about a daunting task - especially for the guys.

I didn't turn off the show tonight feeling inspired to go out and change the world, but I have to say that this year's Idol Gives Back tunes were vastly better choices than last year's schlock.

Rather than drill us with the likes of 'Hero,' 'Wind Beneath My Wings' and 'Because You Loved Me,' the contestants looked for songs that had inspirational lyrics in their respective genres without falling victim to the requisite lite channel sounds. And for that I thank them.

Still, I'm looking forward to a more lively week next week. What about you?