Overrated/Underrated: The Olympics bring real warmth and drama to sports

UNDERRATED

The Olympics: Yes, the International Olympic Committee may be only marginally less shady than the recently indicted FIFA. And yes, the recent doping scandals have brought into question the competitions themselves, which are aired by a network whose coverage is almost as much fun to mock on social media as it is to try and watch on various tape delays. That said, almost in spite of itself, the Olympics brings real warmth and drama in sports we barely acknowledge outside of every four years. Enjoy every minute.

×

Krystle Warren: For all their faults, the 2010s at their midpoint are at least delivering a magnificent array of up-and-coming new voices in soul, including Xenia Rubinos, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and the U.K.’s Michael Kiwanuka. Also worth tracking down is this Paris-based, Kansas City-born artist, who has toured with another vocal powerhouse, Rufus Wainwright. The smoky-voiced Warren has earned comparisons to Nina Simone and recently released a lush, 24-track vinyl edition of a collection called simply “Love Songs.� She performs at the Hotel Cafe on Aug. 17.

OVERRATED

“Game of Thrones� the concert: This isn’t intended to imply any disrespect to Ramin Djawadi, whose compositions have surely inspired many wordless singalongs as the various Westerosi toy sets rise over opening credits for HBO’s blockbuster hit. But isn’t this a little soon for the show to hit the musical revue circuit? Granted, the concert promises to come with all sorts of years-old footage of the show to give “Winds of Castamere� that much more context, but can’t we at least wait until “our watch has ended� with the series before we gather to reminisce about all we just saw?

Dio, reanimated: First they made a Tupac Shakur hologram, and now, four years later, a company is working to digitally reincarnate metal howler and best-named lead singer in rock Ronnie James Dio for a planned 2017 tour on the heels of a recent festival appearance in Germany. It’s hard not to applaud the “Holy Diver� singer and former Black Sabbath frontman as being the first to tour beyond the grave, but we really are only a few short years away from all concerts becoming expensive reimaginings of Disneyland’s animatronic Hall of Presidents attraction.

Follow me over here @chrisbarton.