'Idol' David Cook shines with Collective Soul tune

GLENN GAMBOA; ROBERT KAHN

June 1, 2008

American Idol winner David Cook appears onstage during a taping of MTV's "Total Request Live" at the MTV Times Square Studios (Jason DeCrow, Associated Press / May 29, 2008)

Why is Cook's 'Dream' so big?

The weirdest thing about David Cook's sudden smash success after his " American Idol" win isn't that he landed three songs in the iTunes Top 10 - the coronation song "The Time of My Life" at No. 1, his pick of the original songs "Dream Big" at No. 7 and his cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" at No. 10 - it's the ones that America has chosen to embrace.

Most would say his take on Collective Soul's "The World I Know" was his best performance, but it is the weakest chart performer of his songs, currently at No. 18. Is that because people realized they don't really like that song, even if he did do a good job with it?

And can anyone explain the strong showing of "Dream Big," which was an also-ran in the songwriting competition and pretty much as bland as they come as a power-pop anthem? Many of Cook's own pre-"Idol" songs are way better than that.

-GLENN GAMBOA

Karmina's 'Kiss' and tell video

On the surface, "The Kiss," the first single from sister act Karmina, seems pretty straightforward: a sweet little slice of jangly pop about falling in love that sits somewhere between Natalie Imbruglia and indie-pop faves Meg & Dia.

But the video for the song, which is starting to cause a stir on YouTube, gives a whole different perspective to "The Kiss." Using real-life couples found through a Craigslist ad, Karmina - sisters Kelly and Kamille

Rudisill - shows the cultural consequences of a kiss.

Not only does the video quickly detail the issues that interracial couples, gay and lesbian couples, couples of different religions and ages all face, but on the group's Web site,

karmina.com, the couples get to tell their stories in separate videos, about the problems they've faced and the reactions people have to their relationships.

The whole project is a way to generate some buzz for Karmina, one of the first acts signed to the relaunched CBS Records label, as the group's debut, "Backwards Into Beauty," hits stores Tuesday.

-GLENN GAMBOA

Remembering Vietnam vets

A local playwright's homage to Vietnam vets will be staged next weekend in Hicksville as part of a three-day tribute to soldiers of the era. "The Remembered," by Oceanside resident Elliott Levine, will be performed Saturday and Sunday in the midst of a visit by the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall to a site near the Broadway Mall.

The 45-minute piece is a condensed version of "The Remembered," which made its world premiere in October at Hofstra University.

The traveling Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. It is made of faux-granite, stands 8 feet tall and, like its counterpart, has the names of the 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam inscribed on its mirror-like surface.

The exhibit will be open around-the-clock and lit for the entire weekend, beginning Friday. Events planned include wreath layings, a reading of the names of local residents who perished in Vietnam or remain missing, a 21-gun salute and a display of Vietnam-era military equipment, including armaments and helicopters. "The Remembered" will be performed at dusk on Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday, in the same location as the wall - the parking lot of Sears, 195 N.Broadway. There is no fee to visit the memorial or to see the play. Call 516-797-7900.

-ROBERT KAHN

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