Throwback: Cake – “You Part The Waters”
This just came up in iTunes: Cake – “You Part The Waters“. Get it, turn your stereo up, and rock out to the sweet sounds of Cake, circa 1993.
And no, John, I don’t even play piano.
Why College is good for the NBA (and society in general)
To all those thinking it is unfair for the NBA to require a minimum of one year of college before becoming eligible for employment (it is a business, after all), I have this short section from Jack McCallum’s wonderful book, Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Runnin’ and Gunnin’ Phoenix Suns:
One day [Amare] Stoudemire came in wearing that Rolling Stones T-shirt bearing the image of a cartoon figure sticking out his tongue, the cover of Sticky Fingers.
“Now, STAT [Stand Tall and Talented, one of Stoudemire’s nicknames], tell me,” says [assistant coach Alvin] Gentry, “can you name one single Rolling Stones song?”
“Can’t help you, Chief,” said Stoudemire immediately.
On another day, he was wearing a T-shirt bearing the likeness of a 1930s Time cover on which Al Copone appeared.
“What’s with you and Capone?” I ask him.
“Don’t know anything about him,” Stoudemire answers, “except that he was a bad guy.”
I gave him a one-minute primer on Capone, Chicago, and Prohibition.
“Damn,” he said. “There was a time drinking was illegal?”
I rest my case.
Read Chuck Klosterman. Now.
I will start this post off with a quote from Chuck Klosterman’s book Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story:
Death rides a pale horse, but I shall ride a silver Ford Taurus. It’s currently parked outside my apartment. The moment I turn the key, I decide to rechristen this vehicle the “Ford Tauntaun,” just in case I drive into an August blizzard and I need to stuff a freezing Luke Skywalker into the cozy engine block.
After reading that, is there any reason not to love Chuck Klosterman? I’m only 30 pages into this book, and I am already at that stage where I can’t put it down unless it is pried from my hands by the jaws of life. Now, you may not enjoy his writing (some favorite quotes of reviews on Amazon: “Narcissistic, yes, plus insulting!” and “Too self-involved”), but that is the point. He writes about the goings-on of his life, whether it be visiting locations where rock stars met their deaths (as he does in this book) or the fact that he unashamedly loves heavy metal (as he does in Fargo Rock City). He never apologizes, and he never expects you to care. But the amazing thing is that you most likely will care, and will want to keep reading until there are no pages left to turn. So head on over to your bookstore, library, or online megamart (a.k.a. Amazon) and check him out. I think you’ll be glad you did.
Music: Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It
This blog has been pretty dormant for a while, but I am still alive! And as a reminder of my incredible taste in music, I would like to point everyone in the direction of Raphael Saadiq‘s latest album, The Way I See It.
Right from the get-go this album throws back to the great 50’s and 60’s style of Motown recordings with the opening track, Sure Hope You Mean It. I don’t think I’ve met anyone in my life who considers themselves a music fan who doesn’t have a good time listening to Motown, and this track nails that feeling and makes you feel like you’re catching The Tempations practicing on a Detroit street corner circa 1960. It really is that good.
But don’t think this album is strictly Motown. Saadiq slows it down on Oh Girl, singing straight from his soul (and then picks it right back up for the final track, a reprise of Oh Girl featuring Jay-Z). He really puts something on here for everyone, fast, slow, hip hop, soul; pretty much everything. Trust me, if you like music, you’ll like this album. And if you don’t like this album, take a long hard look in the mirror and assess whether you truly appreciate music, or if you are in fact an alien from Pluto (it’s not even a planet, sucker!).
Check out Saadiq’s video for 100 Yard Dash:
Save Three Sheets!
As you may or may not know, Mojo HD was shut down today due most likely to the owner (iNDEMAND) deciding it was no longer profitable (quick question: outside of the top 20 or so cable channels, do any of them make money? I doubt it). But Three Sheets, the best show by far on the network, has yet to be picked up. The host, Zane Lamprey, has posted on his web site ways to help save it, and I recommend taking a look.
Long live Three Sheets!
Belmore Rankings: Week 14
Boo, Oklahoma, boo. I completely agree with what Tony Kornheiser just said on MNF, that the Big 12 should not be letting voters decide who should be in their title game. The BCS should not be involved in any sort of tiebreaker in any conference. Any subjectivity should be left out when determining who is at the top of a conference, and the Big 12 just gave itself a giant black eye. And you know what? Obectively or subjectively, Texas is better than Oklahoma. They beat them on a neutral field. Oklahoma beat Texas Tech at home, while Texas lost by six points on the road. The Big 12 title game, as well as the BCS in general, has just become an even bigger laughing stock than it had been in previous years. My top 10:
- Texas (11-1)
- Alabama (12-0)
- Oklahoma (11-1)
- Boise State (12-0)
- Florida (11-1)
- Utah (12-0)
- USC (10-1)
- Texas Tech (11-1)
- Ball State (11-0)
- Penn State (11-1)
Greg Oden: Marketable
This isn’t anything new, but it is still awesome:
Weezer Rocks My Socks
I must be on a 90’s kick right now, because I am currently watching “Across The Sea: Weezer Live In Japan” on Palladia (formerly Music HD) and loving it. Watching them play Across The Sea in front of a bunch of screaming Japanese kids is pretty fucking awesome, and it reminds me how much I love Pinkerton. If you don’t own it, I don’t want to talk to you.
I’m not going to be a Weezer apologist and say I liked the last two CDs (I hated Make Believe and haven’t even bothered to give The Red Album a chance), but they can still put on a great live show. I will say, however, that if you put out two great albums and two pretty good ones after that, you’re afforded the right to throw some fluff out there. As long as you keep touring and writing, I have no qualms. Besides, Patrick Wilson is awesome.
Now, if you aren’t a huge Weezer fan, you need to check out The Blue Album and Pinkerton, and then whip up your DVR to record this little set of live footage from the other side of the Pacific. You can thank me later.
Belmore Rankings: Week 13
Texas Tech has lost, and order has been restored. You may be asking why Texas is number one, and that’s simply because they have played the second toughest schedule in the country (behind Utah State who has lost most of their games). Losing one game by six points to a fellow top 10 team is pretty forgivable. Here is the entire top 10:
- Texas (10-1)
- Alabama (11-0)
- Utah (12-0)
- Oklahoma (10-1)
- Florida (10-1)
- Boise State (11-0)
- Texas Tech (10-1)
- USC (9-1)
- Penn State (11-1)
- Georgia (9-2)
I am very curious to see how the next few weeks play out; there isn’t a lot of room for error anymore. The only thing I would change about this season to date (other than every UW game) is to have Penn State still be undefeated. It would have been nice to give ol’ Joe Pa a shot at the title.
Music: 1998 Sounds Great
Can you believe it’s been 10 years since Cake came out with their fabulous album Prolonging The Magic? Neither can I. Sheep Go To Heaven – which hit #16 on the modern rock chart in 2001 – came up on shuffle today while I was driving home, and I sang every word of it. I love this band, and I love this song.
And good news for fans: according to Wikipedia, new albums are in the works:
The band has announced that two new albums are in the works: Live at the Crystal Palace, the band’s first live album; and a new studio album, originally due in fall 2008, but later announced to be early 2009 at the band’s Earthfest 2008 performance. John McCrea describes the studio album’s sound as “very different” from previous Cake records, also indicating that he will be playing piano much more than usual. Both will be released on Upbeat Records.
Awesome! Just a little music post to brighten your Thursday. Now, check out the video, and be amazed:
Flickr Photos
The Daily Belmore 