So the world is in an uproar about the success of a mildly talented singer named Sanjaya Malakar making it to the final countdown on American Idol this season. 

Howard Stern is playing a role by getting his legion of fans to vote for the kid, as is the website Vote For The Worst. I secretly love the idea, although it makes my Dad furious. My view is that American Idol is pretty much useless. There are millions of great singers in the world, so I am unimpressed.

Now, if they had an “American Songwriter” I would tune in, but as it stands American Idol has delivered nothing of quality, or of lasting value. In the end, American Idol is about building celebrity through exposure, it’s not about good music. These “Idols” are the Hootie & The Blowfishes of today… oh, wait, Hootie wrote their own stuff.

If there is one thing music does not need, it’s another American Idol.

Anyway, the whole fiasco got me thinking about the Rhapsody charts. Although the charts on Rhapsody are a bit better than say, top 40 radio, they still leave much to be desired. I’m so very tired of seeing Jack Johnson, Daughtry, Norah Jones, and Fall Out Boy on top. So I thought I would try to help push an artist to the top that you would never expect to see.

I have selected Daniel Johnston for many reasons:

• He’s an outsider free of corporate bonds
• He’s inspired many great artists incuding: Kurt Cobain, David Bowie, Sonic Youth, Beck, The Flaming Lips, and others
• His music is off-kilter, and he’s the kind of musician that radio and the American Idol set brush off as “untalented”
• He suffers from mental illness, an affliction that needs more public  attention
• He could use the support (and the money increased plays will bring)
• He’s a genius

The more plays a song gets on Rhapsody the higher it climbs on the charts. So my fellow bloggers, readers, and anti-corporate music fans, I’m asking you to do the following.  And I never ask you for anything! Won’t you give back now for a cause greater than ourselves?

 1. Click to play the Daniel Johnston song “Walking The Cow”, and do it over and over again.  And while you’re at it, listen to it, absorb it, write about it, pass it on.
2. Please link to this article or post a link to the stream for “Walking the Cow” on your own site.
3. Email the link to friends and encourage them to play the song.

 

Anyone can listen to the song, even if they are not a Rhapsody subscriber, for free!Want a link free of commission tracking? Here it is: Walking The Cow.” If you want to use a different type of Rhapsody link, just make sure it’s the song “Walking the Cow” from the album Welcome To My World by Daniel Johnston.  Please join us in helping see the name “Daniel Johnston” rise to the top of the Rhapsody charts!